• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.512-515
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• 2016

A new viologen derivative namely 1,1'-bis(3,4-dihydroxybutyl)-[4,4'-bipyridine]-1,1'-diium bromide (V-Pr-2OH) was synthesized and applied as a cathode buffer layer to inverted polymer solar cells (PSCs) based on the blend of PTB7 : $PC_{71}BM$. PSCs with the structure of ITO/V-Pr-2OH/PTB7 : $PC_{71}BM/MoO_3/Ag$ as the cathode buffer layer showed the power conversion efficiency (PCE) up to 7.28%, which is comparable to that of the PSCs with the structure of ITO/ZnO/PTB7 : $PC_{71}BM/MoO_3/Ag$ (7.44%) in the absence of V-Pr-2OH. This study demonstrates that a highly efficient PSCs without any high temperature heat treatment can be obtained.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.69-74
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• 2017

Here we report the influence of thermal treatment on the performance of high efficiency polymer solar cells with the bulk heterojunction films of poly[4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b'] dithiophene-alt-3-fluorothieno[3,4-b]thiophene-2-carboxylate] (PTB7-Th) and [6,6]-phenyl $C_{71}$ butyric acid methyl ester ($PC_{71}BM$). The crystalline nanostructure of PTB7-Th:$PC_{71}BM$ layers, which were annealed at three different temperatures, was investigated by employing synchrotron radiation grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) technique. Results showed that the device performance was slightly reduced by thermal annealing at $50^{\circ}C$ but became significantly poor by thermal annealing at $100^{\circ}C$. The poor device performance by thermal annealing was attributed to the collapse in the crystalline nanostructure of PTB7-Th in the PTB7-Th:$PC_{71}BM$ layers as evidenced by the GIXD measurements that exhibited huge reduction in the intensity of PTB7-Th (100) peak even at $50^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.211-217
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• 2013

Two types of organic thin film solar cell devices with bulk hetero-junction (BHJ) structure were fabricated on plastic substrates using conjugated polymers of $PCDTBT:PC_{71}BM$ and $PTB7:PC_{71}BM$ blended as active channel layer. Time-variant characteristics of the organic thin film solar cell devices were investigated: short circuit current density ($J_{SC}$); open circuit voltage ($V_{OC}$); ; fill factor (FF); power conversion efficiency (PCE, ŋ). All the performance parameters were degraded by progress of the measurement time, while $V_{OC}$ showed the most drastic decrease with time. Possible factors to cause the time-variant alteration of performance parameters were discussed to be clarified.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.154.2-154.2
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• 2016

In this work, we introduce a solution-processed CdS interlayer for use in inverted bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells, and compare this material to a series of standard organic and inorganic cathode interlayers. Different combinations of solution-processed CdS, ZnO and conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE) layers were compared as cathode interlayers on ITO substrates to construct inverted solar cells based on $PTB7:PC_{71}BM$ and a $P3HT:PC_{61}BM$ as photoactive layers. Introduction of a CdS interlayer significantly improved the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of inverted $PTB7:PC_{71}BM$ devices from 2.0% to 4.9%, however, this efficiency was still fairly low compared to benchmark ZnO or CPE interlayers due to a low open circuit voltage ($V_{OC}$), stemming from the deep conduction band energy of CdS. The $V_{OC}$ was greatly improved by introducing an interfacial dipole (CPE) layer on top of the CdS layer, yielding outstanding diode characteristics and a PCE of 6.8%. The best performing interlayer, however, was a single CPE layer alone, which yielded a $V_{OC}$ of 0.727 V, a FF of 63.2%, and a PCE of 7.89%. Using $P3HT:PC_{61}BM$ as an active layer, similar trends were observed. Solar cells without the cathode interlayer yielded a PCE of 0.46% with a poor $V_{OC}$ of 0.197 V and FF of 34.3%. In contrast, the use of hybrid ZnO/CPE layer as the cathode interlayer considerably improved the $V_{OC}$ of 0.599 V and FF of 53.3%, resulting the PCE of 2.99%. Our results indicate that the CdS layer yields excellent diode characteristics, however, performs slightly worse than benchmark ZnO and CPE layers in solar cell devices due to parasitic absorption below 550 nm. These results suggest that the hybrid inorganic/organic interlayer materials are promising candidates as cathode interlayers for high efficiency inverted solar cells through the modification of interface contacts.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.337.2-337.2
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• 2016

역 구조 유기태양전지는 가격이 저렴하고 우수한 경량성, 간단한 제조공정 그리고 휘어짐이 가능한 소자를 제작할 수 있는 것이 큰 장점이다. 또한, 광활성층과 전극 사이에 표면개질 물질을 도입하여 에너지장벽을 줄임으로써 소자 전반적인 전하수송을 증가시킬 수 있게 되었다. 나아가 용액공정과 저온 공정을 통해 유기 광전자소자의 roll-to-roll 대면적화 기술을 기반으로 가격대비 성능을 개선시켰다. 본 연구에서는 CdSe 또는 CdSe@ZnS 양자점을 표면개질 유기물질인 polyethylenimine ethoxylated (PEIE)에 정전기적 인력의 결합을 통한 양자점 단일층을 얻었고 이는 전기수송층, 광흡수층 그리고 표면플라즈몬 공명(Surface plasmon resornace)의 역할을 수행하게 되면서 태양전지 전반적인 성능 향상을 관찰 할 수 있었고 양자점 단일층으로 인해 20%가 증가된 에너지변환효율 얻었다. 또한 단일층으로 형성된 CdSe 또는 CdSe@ZnS 양자점 은 $F{\ddot{o}}rster$ resonance energy transfer (FRET) 메커니즘을 통해 PC60BM과 P3HT의 Photo luminescence 세기를 99% 감쇄시켰고, CdSe 양자점을 유기 광활성층인 PTB7:PC71BM에 적용하여 8.1%의 수치를 나타내었다.