Flexible ITO-Free Roll-Processed Large-Area Nonfullerene Organic Solar Cells Based on P3HT:O-IDTBR

The mark of 18% power conversion efficiency (PCE) was recently overcome by laboratory-scale organic solar cells (OSCs) thanks to the development of nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs). NFA-based solar cells show improved performance and stability compared with those of their fullerene-acceptor-based counterparts. However, only a few studies focus on scalable deposition techniques or roll-to-roll compatible processing, which is of paramount importance for the commercialization of the technology. Here, we report a simple and fast fabrication of slot-die-coated poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl):(5Z,5'Z)-5,5'-{7,7'-(4,4,9,9-tetraoctyl-4,9-dihydro-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b']dithiophene-2,7-diyl)bis(benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole-7,4-diyl)]bis(methanylylidene)}bis(3-ethyl-2-thioxothiazolidin-4-one) (P3HT:O-IDTBR) OSCs using a roll platform on flexible ITO-free substrates under ambient conditions. We show that the optical band gap of the active layer increases when an isopropanol-diluted poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) hole-transport layer is coated on top of it, changing the device properties. Optimization of the coating conditions leads to the achievement of up to 3.6% PCE for single cells of 10.1em0excm² fabricated under ambient conditions with flexographic printed Ag back electrodes, compared with solar cells with evaporated Ag (3.8% PCE), Au (2.1% PCE), or Cu (3.0% PCE) back contacts. OSCs with larger areas of 40.1em0excm² with 2.3% PCE are also fabricated, where the fast increase of the series resistance with the area is the main PCE-limiting factor. The efficiencies herein reported for NFAs obtained by roll processing show the excellent potential of the P3HT:O-IDTBR blend for large-scale fabrication.