Chem. J. Chinese Universities ›› 2023, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (9): 20230185.doi: 10.7503/cjcu20230185

• Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Beta-alanine as a Dual Modification Additive in Organic Solar Cells

ZAFAR Saud uz1, ZHANG Weichao2, YANG Shuo3, LI Shilin2, ZHANG Yingyu1, ZHANG Yuan2, ZHANG Hong1(), ZHOU Huiqiong1()   

  1. 1.CAS Key Laboratory for Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication,CAS Centre for Excellence in Nanoscience,National Center for Nanoscience and Technology,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100190,China
    2.School of Chemistry,Beihang University,Beijing 100191,China
    3.Beijing Tingrun Membrane Technology Development Co. ,Ltd. ,Beijing 101100,China
  • Received:2023-04-12 Online:2023-09-10 Published:2023-06-01
  • Contact: ZHANG Hong, ZHOU Huiqiong E-mail:zhanghong@nanoctr.cn;zhouhq@nanoctr.cn
  • Supported by:
    the National Natural Science Foundation of China(52273245);the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB36000000);the Chinese Academy of Sciences-the World Academy of Sciences(CAS-TWAS) President’s Ph.D. Fellowship Program

Abstract:

This work presents a novel approach to modify the interface of organic solar cells(OSCs) by using beta- alanine(β-alanine) which has a hydroxyl(—OH)/carboxyl group(—COOH) group on one side and amine(—NH2) on the other side. As a dual modifier approach, β-alanine was applied to both the hole-transporting layer(HTL, PEDOT∶PSS) and electron-transporting layer(ETL); PFN-Br was added in the same device through a simple solution-processed technique, resulting in the synthesis of new interface layers. β-alanine is soluble in polar aqueous solvents, and their soluble components in this work are methanol and water. Dual modification approach improved the power conversion efficiency(PCE) of PM6∶Y6 solar cells, increasing from 14.99% to 15.78% among with a single-sided approach. The hydrophobicity of both layers was enhanced as confirmed by contact angle and FTIR measurements, which blocked moisture and oxygen from interacting with their respective electrodes. The surface morphology was analyzed using AFM. The results showed that the amine group of β-alanine interacted with the —SO3- group of PSS as well as with the bromine halogen(Br) ion of PFN-Br, which reduced their concentration which elevated the hydrophobicity and improved the stability of the OSCs. Furthermore, the carrier mobilities for both the modified devices were improved, which was confirmed by the space-charge-limit current(SCLC) measurements.

Key words: Beta-alanine, Additive, Dual-modification, Transporting layer, Organic solar cell

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