Air-Processable and Thermally Stable Hole Transport Layer for Non-Fullerene Organic Solar Cells

Power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of organic solar cells (OSCs) have now surpassed 19%. This has led to an increased focus on developing devices using methods and materials that are scalable, processable under ambient air atmospheres, and stable. However, current materials fall short of the essential requirements for stability and processability needed for cost-effective large-scale fabrication of high-performing OSCs. Here, we report a hybrid solution-processable hole transport layer (HTL) based on tantalum-doped tungsten oxide (TaWOx) nanoparticles and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) demonstrating good wettability over the hydrophobic active layer. N-i-p-type OSCs that are processed fully under ambient conditions, based on a polymer donor and a non-fullerene acceptor incorporating a combined TaWOx-PEDOT:PSS layer as HTL deliver a power conversion efficiency of 8.6%. OSCs utilizing the TaWOx-PEDOT:PSS HTL demonstrate improved thermal stability compared to devices based on the previously reported solution-processed MoOx-PEDOT:PSS HTL, which was found to severely degrade upon thermal treatment at 85 °C. Photoelectron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) reveal that the MoOx-PEDOT:PSS HTL is prone to thermally induced intermixing with the underlying active layer, resulting in unfavorable changes in the interfacial energetics. No significant heat-induced changes are observed in the case of the TaWOx-PEDOT:PSS HTL when annealed up to 120 °C, imparting enhanced thermal stability to the devices. Improved wettability on hydrophobic surfaces, combined with air processability and enhanced thermal stability makes TaWOx-PEDOT:PSS a promising HTL material for fabricating stable NFA solar cells using roll-to-roll compatible printing and coating methods.