Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Comparison of self-assembled monolayers with long alkyl chains on ITO for enhanced surface properties and photovoltaic performance

  • Published:
Optical and Quantum Electronics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are used as interfacial layer up to a few nanometer thick in electronic devices to tune the morphological and charge transport properties. Herein, we studied indium titanium oxide (ITO) treatment by two different SAMs molecules involving long alkyl chains with boronic acid (BA) and phosphonic acid anchoring groups to improve the performance of organic solar cells (OSCS). It was determined that the wettability of ITO increased due to the improved surface energy after SAM treatment, which led to enhanced morphology of upper layer. The champion device treated with C14-BA SAM showed a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.3%, which is higher than that of non-treated device (2.9%). The C14-BA SAM treated ITO showed a better morphology and its device shows the highest performance, thanks to improved short circuit current (Jsc) from 7.8 mA cm−2 (for non-treated device) to 8.8 mA cm−2. It was concluded that the work function change and upper layer morphology can be easily controlled by treatment of the ITO surface by SAMs with different anchoring groups. This study provides an easy and alternative approach to enhance the surface properties of metal oxides for improving the performances of OSCs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5
Fig. 6.
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahmadi, M., Shafiey Dehaj, M., Ghazanfarpour, S., Ghazanfarpour, S.: Bulk heterojunction polymer solar cell, using ZnO nanorods with various mass ratios of P3HT:PCBM blend as the active layer. Appl. Phys. A 125(9), 604 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-019-2882-4

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Akın Kara, D., Kara, K., Oylumluoglu, G., Yigit, M.Z., Can, M., Kim, J.J., Burnett, E.K., Gonzalez Arellano, D.L., Buyukcelebi, S., Ozel, F., Usluer, O., Briseno, A.L., Kus, M.: Enhanced device efficiency and long-term stability via boronic acid-based self-assembled monolayer modification of indium tin oxide in a planar perovskite solar cell. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 10(35), 30000–30007 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b10445

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alemu, D., Wei, H.-Y., Ho, K.-C., Chu, C.-W.: Highly conductive PEDOT:PSS electrode by simple film treatment with methanol for ITO-free polymer solar cells. Energy Environ. Sci. 5(11), 9662–9671 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1039/C2EE22595F

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alsultany, F.H., Ahmed, N.M., Matjafri, M.: Effects of CW CO2 laser annealing on indium tin oxide thin films characteristics. Soft Nanosci Lett 4(04), 83 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, N.R., Carter, C., Donley, C., Simmonds, A., Lee, P., Brumbach, M., Kippelen, B., Domercq, B., Yoo, S.: Interface modification of ITO thin films: organic photovoltaic cells. Thin Solid Films 445(2), 342–352 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2003.08.067

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Boer, B., Hadipour, A., Mandoc, M., Blom, P.: Tuning of metal work functions with self-assembled monolayers. In: MRS Proceedings, vol. 871 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-871-I6.12

  • Cerruti, M., Rhodes, C., Losego, M., Efremenko, A., Maria, J.-P., Fischer, D., Franzen, S., Genzer, J.: Influence of indium–tin oxide surface structure on the ordering and coverage of carboxylic acid and thiol monolayers. J. Phys. D Appl. Phys. 40(14), 4212–4221 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/40/14/016

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Chueh, C.-C., Crump, M., Jen, A.K.-Y.: Optical Enhancement via electrode designs for high-performance polymer solar cells. Adv. Funct. Mater. 26(3), 321–340 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201503489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Das, S., Joslin, J., Alford, T.L.: Self-assembled monolayer modified ITO in P3HT:PC61BM organic solar cells with improved efficiency. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 124, 98–102 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2014.01.048

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghosekar, I.C., Patil, G.C.: Impact of concentration variation and thermal annealing on performance of multilayer OSC consisting of sandwiched P3HT layer between PEDOT:PSS and P3HT:PCBM. Microelectron. Eng. 221, 111195 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mee.2019.111195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gliboff, M., Li, H., Knesting, K.M., Giordano, A.J., Nordlund, D., Seidler, G.T., Brédas, J.-L., Marder, S.R., Ginger, D.S.: Competing effects of fluorination on the orientation of aromatic and aliphatic phosphonic acid monolayers on Indium Tin Oxide. J. Phys. Chem. C 117(29), 15139–15147 (2013a). https://doi.org/10.1021/jp404033e

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gliboff, M., Sang, L., Knesting, K.M., Schalnat, M.C., Mudalige, A., Ratcliff, E.L., Li, H., Sigdel, A.K., Giordano, A.J., Berry, J.J., Nordlund, D., Seidler, G.T., Brédas, J.-L., Marder, S.R., Pemberton, J.E., Ginger, D.S.: Orientation of phenylphosphonic acid self-assembled monolayers on a transparent conductive oxide: a combined NEXAFS, PM-IRRAS, and DFT Study. Langmuir 29(7), 2166–2174 (2013b). https://doi.org/10.1021/la304594t

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ha, Y.E., Jo, M.Y., Park, J., Kang, Y.-C., Yoo, S.I., Kim, J.H.: Inverted type polymer solar cells with self-assembled monolayer treated ZnO. J. Phys. Chem. C 117(6), 2646–2652 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1021/jp311148d

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoppe, C.E., Williams, R.J.J.: Tailoring the self-assembly of linear alkyl chains for the design of advanced materials with technological applications. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 513, 911–922 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2017.10.048

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Hotchkiss, P.J., Jones, S.C., Paniagua, S.A., Sharma, A., Kippelen, B., Armstrong, N.R., Marder, S.R.: The modification of Indium Tin Oxide with phosphonic acids: mechanism of binding, tuning of surface properties, and potential for use in organic electronic applications. Acc. Chem. Res. 45(3), 337–346 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1021/ar200119g

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jee, S.H., Kim, S.H.K., Ko, J.H., Yoon, Y.S.: Study on work function change of ITO modified by using a self-assembled monolayer for organic based devices. J. Korean Phys. Soc. 49(5), 2034–2039 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M.Z., Harkin-Jones, E.: Effect of ITO surface properties on SAM modification: a review toward biosensor application. Cogent Eng. 3, 1170097 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311916.2016.1170097

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, H.R., Kim, T.-W., Park, S.-G.: Effective hole-injection characteristics of organic light-emitting diodes due to fluorinated self-assembled monolayer embedded as a buffer layer. Polym. Int. 68(8), 1478–1483 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1002/pi.5853

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J.S., Park, J.H., Lee, J.H., Jo, J., Kim, D.-Y., Cho, K.: Control of the electrode work function and active layer morphology via surface modification of indium tin oxide for high efficiency organic photovoltaics. Appl. Phys. Lett. 91(11), 112111 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2778548

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Kirbiyik, C.: Tuning the electrical and morphological characteristics of PEDOT: PSS films through mixed cosolvent addition and performance of their polymer solar cells. Turk. J. Phys. 43(6), 563–575 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kırbıyık, Ç., Akın Kara, D., Kara, K., Büyükçelebi, S., Yiğit, M.Z., Can, M., Kuş, M.: Improving the performance of inverted polymer solar cells through modification of compact TiO2 layer by different boronic acid functionalized self-assembled monolayers. Appl. Surf. Sci. 479, 177–184 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.01.268

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Kırbıyık, Ç., Can, M., Kuş, M.: Interfacial modification via boronic acid functionalized self-assembled monolayers for efficient inverted polymer solar cells. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 107, 104860 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2019.104860

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liao, H.-C., Tsao, C.-S., Lin, T.-H., Jao, M.-H., Chuang, C.-M., Chang, S.-Y., Huang, Y.-C., Shao, Y.-T., Chen, C.-Y., Su, C.-J., Jeng, U.S., Chen, Y.-F., Su, W.-F.: Nanoparticle-tuned self-organization of a bulk heterojunction hybrid solar cell with enhanced performance. ACS Nano. 6(2), 1657–1666 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1021/nn204654h

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lim, E.L., Yap, C.C., Hj Jumali, M.H., Khairulaman, F.L.: Solution-dispersed copper iodide anode buffer layer gives P3HT:PCBM-based organic solar cells an efficiency boost. J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electron. 30(3), 2726–2731 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-0548-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, Y., Wang, J., Zhang, Z.-G., Bai, H., Li, Y., Zhu, D., Zhan, X.: An electron acceptor challenging fullerenes for efficient polymer solar cells. Adv. Mater. 27(7), 1170–1174 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201404317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Q., Jiang, Y., Jin, K., Qin, J., Xu, J., Li, W., Xiong, J., Liu, J., Xiao, Z., Sun, K., Yang, S., Zhang, X., Ding, L.: 18% Efficiency organic solar cells. Sci. Bull. 65(4), 272–275 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2020.01.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mandler, D., Kraus-Ophir, S.: Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) for electrochemical sensing. J. Solid State Electrochem. 15(7), 1535 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-011-1493-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Motte, L., Pileni, M.P.: Self-assemblies of silver sulfide nanocrystals: influence of length of thio-alkyl chains used as coating agent. Appl. Surf. Sci. 164(1), 60–67 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-4332(00)00325-1

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Mutlu, A., Can, M., Tozlu, C.: Performance improvement of organic solar cell via incorporation of donor type self-assembled interfacial monolayer. Thin Solid Films 685, 88–96 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2019.05.064

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Padinger, F., Rittberger, R.S., Sariciftci, N.S.: Effects of postproduction treatment on plastic solar cells. Adv. Funct. Mater. 13(1), 85–88 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.200390011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paniagua, S.A., Giordano, A.J., Smith, O.N.L., Barlow, S., Li, H., Armstrong, N.R., Pemberton, J.E., Brédas, J.-L., Ginger, D., Marder, S.R.: Phosphonic acids for interfacial engineering of transparent conductive oxides. Chem. Rev. 116(12), 7117–7158 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00061

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ringk, A., Christian Roelofs, W.S., Smits, E.C.P., van der Marel, C., Salzmann, I., Neuhold, A., Gelinck, G.H., Resel, R., de Leeuw, D.M., Strohriegl, P.: n-Type self-assembled monolayer field-effect transistors for flexible organic electronics. Org Electron 14(5), 1297–1304 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgel.2013.02.016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sato, Y., Ashida, T., Oka, N., Shigesato, Y.: Carrier Density dependence of optical band gap and work function in Sn-doped In2O3 films. Appl. Phys. Express 3(6), 061101 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1143/apex.3.061101

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Schmaltz, T., Gothe, B., Krause, A., Leitherer, S., Steinrück, H.-G., Thoss, M., Clark, T., Halik, M.: Effect of structure and disorder on the charge transport in defined self-assembled monolayers of organic semiconductors. ACS Nano. 11(9), 8747–8757 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.7b02394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soga, T., Kato, S., Kato, S., Kishi, N.: Role of polyethylene glycol addition on the improvement of P3HT:PCBM organic solar cells. J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electron. 30(4), 3332–3337 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-00606-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Bavel, S., Sourty, E., de With, G., Frolic, K., Loos, J.: Relation between photoactive layer thickness, 3D morphology, and device performance in P3HT/PCBM bulk-heterojunction solar cells. Macromolecules 42(19), 7396–7403 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1021/ma900817t

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, S., Li, Z., Xu, X., Zhang, G., Li, Y., Peng, Q.: Amino-Functionalized graphene quantum dots as cathode interlayer for efficient organic solar cells: quantum dot size on interfacial modification ability and photovoltaic performance. Adv. Mater. Interfaces 6(3), 1801480 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.201801480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Z., Chen, J., Oyola-Reynoso, S., Thuo, M.: The Porter-Whitesides discrepancy: revisiting odd-even effects in wetting properties of n-alkanethiolate SAMs. Coatings 5(4), 1034–1055 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wen, L., Gao, F., Yu, Y., Xu, Z., Liu, Z., Gao, P., Zhang, S., Li, G.: Enhancing the photovoltaic performance of GaAs/graphene Schottky junction solar cells by interfacial modification with self assembled alkyl thiol monolayer. J. Mater. Chem. A 6(36), 17361–17370 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1039/C8TA04490B

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan, J., Zhang, Y., Zhou, L., Zhang, C., Lau, T.-K., Zhang, G., Lu, X., Yip, H.-L., So, S.K., Beaupré, S., Mainville, M., Johnson, P.A., Leclerc, M., Chen, H., Peng, H., Li, Y., Zou, Y.: Fused benzothiadiazole: a building block for n-type organic acceptor to achieve high-performance organic solar Cells. Adv. Mater. 31(17), 1807577 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201807577

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Selcuk University, 42075, Konya, Turkey

    Tuğbahan Yılmaz

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Konya Technical University, 42075, Konya, Turkey

    Çisem Kırbıyık Kurukavak

Authors
  1. Tuğbahan Yılmaz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Çisem Kırbıyık Kurukavak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tuğbahan Yılmaz.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yılmaz, T., Kırbıyık Kurukavak, Ç. Comparison of self-assembled monolayers with long alkyl chains on ITO for enhanced surface properties and photovoltaic performance. Opt Quant Electron 53, 170 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-021-02812-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-021-02812-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation