journal article·2026-05-13

ZnO Electron Transport Layers for Scalable Nonfullerene Acceptor-Based Organic Photovoltaics: Assessing the Role of Processing Technique on Device Performance and Stability

Chun Yuen Ho, Kun Wang, Abhinav Chandel, Catarina G. Ferreira, Eswaran Jayaraman, Katarzyna Janik, Florian Zimmermann, Zhi Hua Ye, Um Kanta Aryal, Vida Turkovic, Andrei Chumakov, Oier Bikondoa, Zheshen Li, Joel D. Cox, N. Asger Mortensen, Chao Ping Liu, Jakob Kjelstrup-Hansen, Thomas Riedl, Morten Madsen

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces· Volume 18· Issue 18
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Abstract

Solution-processed zinc oxide (ZnO) is commonly used to prepare electron transport layers (ETLs) in inverted organic photovoltaics (OPVs), but they typically exhibit a high density of intrinsic defects, which adversely affect device stability. To address this issue, magnetron sputtering is utilized to deposit ZnO ETLs. Optimized sputtering conditions lead to enhancements in device efficiency and in particular operational stability. Detailed device analysis and optical simulations suggest more efficient charge transport and extraction in PM6:Y7-BO inverted OPVs with sputtered ZnO, when compared to conventional solution-processed ZnO ETLs, resulting in an increased short-circuit current density improving from 21.9 to 23.2 mA·cm-2 and a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13.8%. Furthermore, green solvent and ambient air slot-die coated OPVs employing sputtered ZnO ETLs reached an average PCE of 13.9%, demonstrating the scalability of the method. Importantly, the sputtered ZnO-based devices also exhibited superior long-term stability, showing only a 10% drop in PCE after 1000 h upon exposure to illumination. These improvements are attributed to reduced shunt pathways and mitigated trap-assisted recombination, yielding stability comparable to those based on high-quality atomic layer deposited ZnO ETLs. Moreover, OPVs with sputtered ZnO consistently outperform those with solution-processed ZnO ETLs for other active layer systems, demonstrating the highest PCE of 15.9% for inverted PM6:L8-BO devices. This work highlights the potential of sputter-deposited ZnO ETLs for large-scale inverted OPVs with exceptional efficiency and stability.
Source: europepmc · Quality: candidate unverified · Source record ↗

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics · Chemical and Physical Properties of Materials · Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Research

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Energy Devices, Mads Clausen Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Alsion 2, 6400 Sønderborg, Denmark

SDU Climate Cluster, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark

POLIMA−Center for Polariton-driven Light-Matter Interactions, Mads Clausen Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark

Danish Institute for Advanced Study, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark

NanoSYD, Mads Clausen Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Alsion 2, 6400 Sønderborg, Denmark

Institute of Electronic Devices, University of Wuppertal, Rainer-Gruenter-Str. 21, 42119 Wuppertal, Germany

Wuppertal Center for Smart Materials & Systems, University of Wuppertal, Rainer-Gruenter-Str. 21, 42119 Wuppertal, Germany

Department of Physics

Shantou University

FS-PETRA D, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestr. 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany

XMaS, The U.K.-CRG Beamline, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Gibbert Hill Road, CV4 7AL Conventry, United Kingdom

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark

Funding

Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond · Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province · Li Ka Shing Foundation · Danish Eye Research Foundation · European Synchrotron Radiation Facility · DanScatt · German Research Council (DFG) · National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)

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