Small-molecule organic solar cells with multiple-layer donor
Small-molecule organic solar cells (OSCs) with a multifunction three-layer donor are experimentally investigated to achieve higher power conversion efficiency. The proposed OSC has an indium tin oxide (ITO, anode)/three-layer donor/fullerene (C60, acceptor, 40 nm)/bathocuproine (BCP, cathode buffer, 10 nm)/Ag (cathode, 100 nm) structure. The three-layer donor is composed of 3-nm-thick pentacene/20-nm-thick copper phthalocyanine (CuPc)/5-nm-thick aluminum phthalocyanine chloride (ClAlPc). The OSC achieves a power conversion efficiency of 1.79%, which is 1.7 times as large as that for an OSC with a single-layer donor of 20-nm-thick CuPc. Atomic force microscopy observation is carried out to clarify in detail the surface morphology at typical organic layers. The acceptor C60 is in contact not only with ClAlPc but also with CuPc due to the vertical and wall-like growth of the ClAlPc layer. The open-circuit voltage for the OSC with the ClAlPc/C60 contact is 0.56 V, compared with 0.47 V for the OSC with the CuPc/C60 contact. The thin pentacene layer is uniformly grown on the ITO and serves to achieve a high short-circuit current density Jsc by lowering the barrier height for hole transport between ITO and CuPc. Jsc for the OSC with the thin pentacene layer is 5.60 mA/cm2, compared with 4.32 mA/cm2 for the OSC without the thin pentacene layer.