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Solution Processed WO3 and PEDOT:PSS Composite for Hole Transport Layer in ITO-Free Organic Solar Cells

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Abstract

We developed PEDOT:PSS [poly (styrenesulfonate)-doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene] and tungsten oxide (WO3) based hybrid thin films by facile hydrothermal method. The solution processed WO3–PEDOT:PSS hybrid thin films are fully characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV–Vis (UV), Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis. XRD and SEM results suggest that WO3 has crystalline structure with monoclinic phase and spherical shaped nanoparticles (20–25 nm), which is uniformly decorated on the surface of PEDOT:PSS sheets. The value of Eg [calculated by linear extrapolating of (F(R ∞) hν)2 and hν] was evaluated to be 3.11 and 2.85 eV for pure WO3 and WO3/PEDOT:PSS, respectively. The PL intensity of WO3/PEDOT:PSS is maximum lower than the pristine WO3 and PEDOT:PSS, implying an improved interfacial contact quality at the WO3/PEDOT:PSS. Photovoltaic performance of WO3–PEDOT:PSS devices were measured under AM 1.5 G 1 sun light intensity of 100 mW/cm2. Organic solar cell devices with WO3–PEDOT:PSS layer give rise to a significant increase in JSC from 9.35 ± 0.03 to 16.2 ± 0.01 mA/cm2 respectively and in VOC from 0.28 V to 0.72 V respectively, resulting in a remarkable PCE increase from 0.592 ± 0.03 to 0.714 ± 0.02%. The WO3/PEDOT:PSS composite deliver a PCE of 7.81 ± 0.01%. The superior performance of WO3/PEDOT:PSS composite was attributed to the reduced current leakage, enhanced hole extraction characteristics, and less trap-assisted interfacial recombination via current density–voltage.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electronic Science, A.V.C. College (Autonomous), Mannampandal, Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, 609305, India

    P. Gurudevi

  2. Department of Electronics, Rathnavel Subramaniam College of Arts and Science (Autonomous), Sulur, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641402, India

    P. Venkateswari & T. Sivakumar

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, M. Kumarasamy College of Engineering, Karur, Tamil Nadu, 639006, India

    C. Ramesh

  4. Department of Management Studies, M. Kumarasamy College of Engineering, Karur, Tamil Nadu, 639006, India

    P. Vanitha

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  1. P. Gurudevi
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PG and PV, study conceptualization and writing (original draft) the manuscript. TS, data curation, formal analysis and writing (review and editing), and funding acquisition and project administration.

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Gurudevi, P., Venkateswari, P., Sivakumar, T. et al. Solution Processed WO3 and PEDOT:PSS Composite for Hole Transport Layer in ITO-Free Organic Solar Cells. J Clust Sci 34, 2135–2145 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10876-022-02368-6

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