Enhanced Performance of Inverted Polymer Solar Cells by Combining ZnO Nanoparticles and Poly[(9,9-bis(3′-(N,N-dimethylamino)propyl)-2,7-fluorene)-alt-2,7-(9,9-dioctyfluorene)] as Electron Transport Layer

A highly efficient inverted polymer solar cell (PSC) has been successfully demonstrated by using a ZnO nanoparticle (NP) and poly[(9,9-bis(3'-(N,N-dimethylamino)propyl)-2,7-fluorene)-alt-2,7-(9,9-dioctyfluorene)] (PFN) bilayer structure as an effective electron collecting layer. This ZnO/PFN bilayer structure is designed to combine the advantages of both ZnO and PFN, based on the performance comparison of ZnO-only, PFN-only, and ZnO/PFN bilayer devices in our work. ZnO NPs can serve as an efficient electron transport and buffer layer for reduced series resistance, while the PFN interlayer can improve the energy level alignment of devices through the formation of an interfacial dipole. With the enhanced electron extraction induced by the ZnO/PFN bilayer structure and PTB7:ICBA:PC71BM ternary system, the corresponding inverted PSC device shows a high PCE of 9.3%, which is more than a 15% improvement compared to the ZnO- or PFN-only devices.