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Boosting inverted type organic solar cell efficiency through the use of spray coated Y and Sn co-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles as an electron transport layers

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) as an electron transport layer (ETL) in inverted type organic solar cells (IOSCs). Three different forms of ZnO NPs were synthesized: undoped, doped with Sn or Y, and co-doped with combinations of these elements (Sn-co-doped Y). The ZnO NPs ETL was introduced into the solar cells using a spray coating technique, resulting in a bulk heterojunction structure of ZnO NPs/P3HT:PCBM/V2O5/Ag. Various methodological approaches were used to characterize the ZnO nanoparticles, including scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometer. The current–voltage performance of the solar cells was measured under 100 mW/cm2 white light. The results showed that the efficiency of the solar cells using undoped ZnO as ETL was 3.09%. However, the use of 0.5 wt% Sn and 1 wt% Y co-doped ZnO as ETL significantly improved the efficiency to 3.67%, representing an approximate increase of 19% compared to the undoped ETL. All experimental processes were performed under ambient air conditions. In conclusion, this study highlights the potential of using doped or co-doped ZnO NPs as ETL for fabricating IOSCs at low temperatures and improving their efficiency.

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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

In order to perform this research, Düzce University’s 2021.05.02.1245 and 2020.05.02.1104 BAP Project has provided support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Institute of Graduate Studies, Düzce University, Düzce, Turkey

    Keziban Gegin

  2. Department of Physics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Düzce University, Düzce, Turkey

    Keziban Gegin & Ahmet Demir

  3. Institute of Nanotechnology and Biotechnology, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey

    Sadullah Öztürk & Arif Kösemen

  4. Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC MN), 1000-029, Lisbon, Portugal

    Mustafa Erkovan

  5. Department of Physics, Instituto Superior Tecnico (IST), Universidade de Lisboa, 1040 001, Lisbon, Portugal

    Mustafa Erkovan

  6. Department of Fundamental Sciences and Engineering, Sivas University of Science and Technology, Sivas, Turkey

    Mustafa Erkovan

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  1. Keziban Gegin
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by KG, AD, ME, and SÖ. The manuscript was written by AK. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Arif Kösemen.

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Gegin, K., Demir, A., Öztürk, S. et al. Boosting inverted type organic solar cell efficiency through the use of spray coated Y and Sn co-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles as an electron transport layers. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 1410 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-10739-6

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