Enhancement of organic photovoltaic cell open circuit voltage using electron/hole blocking exciton blocking layers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016308135-A1
Application number	US-201514942170-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 16, 2015
Priority date	Jan 12, 2009
Publication date	Oct 20, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to photosensitive optoelectronic devices comprising at least one of an electron blocking or hole blocking layer. Further disclosed are methods of increasing power conversion efficiency in photosensitive optoelectronic devices using at least one of an electron blocking or hole blocking layer. The electron blocking and hole blocking layers presently disclosed may reduce electron leakage current by reducing the dark current components of photovoltaic cells. This work demonstrates the importance of reducing dark current to improve power conversion efficiency of photovoltaic cells.

First claim

1 - 30 . (canceled)

31 . An organic photosensitive optoelectronic device comprising:
two electrodes comprising an anode and a cathode in superposed relation; at least one donor material and at least one acceptor material, wherein the at least one donor material and the at least one acceptor material are adjacent to one another and form a photoactive region between the two electrodes; and at least one electron blocking layer located between the two electrodes and adjacent to the at least one donor material, wherein the electron blocking layer:
has a Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO) energy level at least 0.2 eV higher than a LUMO energy level of the donor material;
has a thickness ranging from 20 Å to 500 Å; and
comprises at least one material chosen from organic semiconductors, inorganic semiconductors, and combinations thereof, wherein the organic semiconductors are tris-(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminium(III) (Alq 3 ), subphthalocyanine (SubPc), pentacene, squaraine, zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc), chloroaluminum phthalocyanine (ClAlPc), and tris(2-phenylpyridine) (Ir(ppy) 3 ), and the inorganic semiconductors are Si, II-VI semiconductors, and III-V semiconductors.

32 . The device of claim 31 , further comprising at least one hole blocking layer located between the two electrodes and adjacent to the at least one acceptor material, wherein the at least one hole blocking layer comprises at least one material chosen from organic semiconductors, inorganic semiconductors, polymers, metal oxides, and combinations thereof.

33 . The device of claim 32 , wherein the at least one hole blocking layer comprises at least one organic semiconductor material chosen from naphthalene tetracarboxylic anhydride (NTCDA), p-bis(triphenylsilyl)benzene (UGH2), 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA), and 7,7,8,8,-tetracyanonequinodimethane (TCNQ).

34 . The device of claim 32 , wherein the hole blocking layer comprises at least one material chosen from TiO 2 , GaN, ZnS, ZnO, ZnSe, SrTiO 3 , KaTiO 3 , BaTiO 3 , MnTiO 3 , PbO, WO 3 , and SnO 2 .

35 . The device of claim 31 , wherein the at least one donor material comprises at least one material chosen from CuPc, SnPc, and squaraine.

36 . The device of claim 31 , wherein the at least one acceptor material comprises at least one material chosen from C 60 and PTCBI.

37 . The device of claim 31 , wherein the at least one donor material and the at least one acceptor material are selected to have spectral sensitivity in the visible spectrum.

38 . The device of claim 31 , wherein the at least one donor material and the at least one acceptor material form at least one of a mixed heterojunction, planar heterojunction, bulk heterojunction, nanocrystalline-bulk heterojunction, and hybrid planar-mixed heterojunction.

39 . The device of claim 31 , wherein the electron blocking layer has a thickness ranging from 20 Å to 100 Å.

40 . The device of claim 31 , wherein the electron blocking layer comprises SubPc and has a thickness ranging from 30 Å to 100 Å.

41 . The device of claim 32 , wherein the hole blocking layer has a thickness ranging from 20 Å to 500 Å.

42 . The device of claim 31 , wherein the device is an organic photodetector.

43 . The device of claim 31 , wherein the device is an organic solar cell.

44 . An organic photosensitive optoelectronic device comprising:
two electrodes comprising an anode and a cathode in superposed relation; at least one donor material and at least one acceptor material, wherein the at least one donor material and the at least one acceptor material are adjacent to one another and form a photoactive region between the two electrodes; at least one electron blocking layer located between the two electrodes and adjacent to the at least one donor material, wherein the electron blocking layer comprises MoO 3 and has a thickness ranging from 20 Å to 500 Å; and at least one hole blocking layer located between the two electrodes and adjacent to the at least one acceptor material, wherein the at least one hole blocking layer comprises at least one material chosen from naphthalene tetracarboxylic anhydride (NTCDA), p-bis(triphenylsilyl)benzene (UGH2), 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA), 7,7,8,8,-tetracyanonequinodimethane (TCNQ), TiO 2 , GaN, ZnS, ZnO, ZnSe, SrTiO 3 , KaTiO 3 , BaTiO 3 , MnTiO 3 , PbO, WO 3 , and SnO 2 .

45 . The device of claim 44 wherein the at least one donor material comprises at least one material chosen from CuPc, SnPc, and squaraine.

46 . The device of claim 44 , wherein the at least one acceptor material comprises at least one material chosen from C 60 and PTCBI.

47 . The device of claim 44 , wherein the at least one electron blocking layer has a thickness ranging from 20 Å to 100 Å.

48 . The device of claim 44 , wherein the hole blocking layer has a thickness ranging from 20 Å to 500 Å.

49 . The device of claim 44 , wherein the device is an organic photodetector.

50 . The device of claim 44 , wherein the device is an organic solar cell.

51 . A stacked organic photosensitive optoelectronic device comprising a plurality of photosensitive optoelectronic subcells, wherein at least one of the subcells comprises:
two electrodes comprising an anode and a cathode in superposed relation; at least one donor material; at least one acceptor material, wherein the at least one donor material and the at least one acceptor material are adjacent to one another and form a photoactive region between the two electrodes; at least one electron blocking layer located between the two electrodes and adjacent to the at least one donor material, wherein the electron blocking layer:
has a Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO) energy level at least 0.2 eV higher than a LUMO energy level of the donor material;
has a thickness ranging from 20 Å to 500 Å; and
comprises at least one material chosen from organic semiconductors, inorganic semiconductors, and combinations thereof, wherein the organic semiconductors are tris-(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminium(III) (Alq 3 ), subphthalocyanine (SubPc), pentacene, squaraine, zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc), chloroaluminum phthalocyanine (ClAlPc), and tris(2-phenylpyridine) (Ir(ppy) 3 ), and the inorganic semiconductors are Si, II-VI semiconductors, and III-V semiconductors.

52 . The device of claim 51 , further comprising at least one hole blocking layer located between the two electrodes and adjacent to the at least one acceptor material, wherein the at least one hole blocking layer comprises at least one material chosen from organic semiconductors, inorganic semiconductors, polymers, metal oxides, and combinations thereof.

53 . The device of claim 52 , wherein the at least one hole blocking layer comprises at least one organic semiconductor material chosen from naphthalene tetracarboxylic anhydride (NTCDA), p-bis(triphenylsilyl)benzene (UGH2), 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA), and 7,7,8,8,-tetracyanonequinodimethane (TCNQ).

54 . The device of claim 52 , wherein the hole blocking layer comprises at least one material chosen from TiO 2 , GaN, ZnS, ZnO, ZnSe, SrTiO 3 , KaTiO 3 , BaTiO 3 , MnTiO 3 , PbO, WO 3 , and SnO 2 .

55 . A method of increasing the power conversion efficiency of a photosensitive optoelectronic device by reducing dark current comprising incorporating in the device
at least one electron blocking laye

Assignees

• Univ Michigan Regents

Inventors

• Forrest Stephen R
• Li Ning

Classifications

• Y02E10/549

  Organic PV cells · CPC title

• H10K30/353

  comprising blocking layers, e.g. exciton blocking layers · CPC title

• H10K30/30

  comprising bulk heterojunctions, e.g. interpenetrating networks of donor and acceptor material domains · CPC title

• H10K30/50

  Photovoltaic [PV] devices · CPC title

• H10K85/211

  Fullerenes, e.g. C60 · CPC title