Ultraviolent Ozone Treatment Increases Power Conversion Efficiency to 8 Percent for Organic Photovoltaic Cells
This ultraviolet ozone treatment of zinc oxide film enhances the performances of inverted solar cells. Organic photovoltaic cells are promising as a low-cost, renewable energy source due to their compatibility with large-scale, flexible, and throughput roll-to-roll production. They have the potential to reduce the cost per kilowatt hour and make it more favorable for practical applications. Zinc oxide nanoparticles have been favored as an electron transporting layer in these solar cells but are not stable and require light soaking. University of Florida researchers have stabilized the performance of organic photovoltaic cells by using ultraviolet ozone to treat the zinc oxide film. Treating the zinc oxide electron transporting layer increases the charge collection in inverted polymer solar cells to higher than 8 percent power conversion efficiency.
Application
Ultraviolent ozone treatment of zinc oxide film for enhancing performance of solar cells
Advantages
- UV-ozone treatment passivates zinc oxide nanoparticles, removing defects and preventing photocurrent loss
- UV-ozone treatment improves contact between photoactive layer, increasing charge collection
- Has promise for large-scale, flexible roll-to-roll production of solar cells, decreasing costs and making practical applications more favorable
Technology
These inverted solar cells obtain a higher performance from a special ultraviolet ozone treatment and provide a more stable device performance. Solar cells constructed of multiple layers, including an electron transporting layer typically based on zinc oxide, can be altered simply by treating the electron transporting layer with UV-ozone. This treatment enables the fabrication of highly efficient polymer solar cells, which is promising for solar cells compactable to large-scale roll-to-roll device fabrication.
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