Effect of fluorine plasma treatment with chemically reduced graphene oxide thin films as hole transport layer in organic solar cells

The inorganic materials such as V2O5, MoO3 and WO3 were investigated to replace PEDOT:PSS as hole transport layer (HTL) in organic electronic devices such as organic solar cells (OSCs) and organic lighting emission diodes. However, these methods require vacuum techniques that are long time process and complex. Here, we report about plasma treatment with SF6 and CF4 using reactive ion etching on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) thin films that are obtained using an eco-friendly method with vitamin C. The plasma treated rGO thin films have dipoles since they consist of covalent bonds with fluorine on the surface of rGO. This means it is possible to increase the electrostatic potential energy than bare rGO. Increased potential energy on the surface of rGO films is worth applying organic electronic devices as HTL such as OSCs. Consequently, the power conversion efficiency of OSCs increased more than the rGO films without plasma treatment.