Overcoming Moisture‐Induced Degradation in Organic Solar Cells

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Abstract
Unencapsulated organic solar cells are prone to severe performance losses in the presence of moisture. Accelerated damp heat (85 °C/85% RH) studies are presented and it is shown that the hygroscopic hole‐transporting PEDOT:PSS layer is the origin of device failure in the case of prototypical inverted solar cells. Complementary measurements unveil that under these conditions a decreased PEDOT:PSS work function along with areas of reduced electrical contact between active layer and hole‐transport layer are the main factors for device degradation rather than a chemical reaction of water with the active layer. Replacements for PEDOT:PSS are explored and it is found that tungsten oxide (WO3) or phosphomolybdic acid (PMA)—materials that can be processed from benign solvents at room temperature—yields comparable performance as PEDOT:PSS and enhances the resilience of solar cells under damp heat. The stability trend follows the order PEDOT:PSS << WO3 < PMA, with PEDOT:PSS‐based devices failing after few minutes, while PMA‐based devices remain nearly pristine over several hours. PMA is thus proposed as a robust, solution‐processable hole extraction layer that can act as a one to one replacement of PEDOT:PSS to achieve organic solar cells with significantly improved longevity.
Funding Information
  • H2020 Societal Challenges (952911)
  • Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wirtschaft und Medien, Energie und Technologie (20.2-3410.5-4-5)

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