Enhanced exciton diffusion in an organic photovoltaic cell by energy transfer using a phosphorescent sensitizer

We demonstrate enhanced exciton diffusion in an organic photovoltaic cell through the incorporation of a phosphorescent sensitizer. The increase in exciton diffusion length (LD) is realized using a composite electron donor layer consisting of a N,N′-bis(naphthalen-1-yl)-N,N′-bis(phenyl)-benzidine (NPD) host doped with the phosphorescent guest fac-tris(2-phenylpyridine) iridium [Ir(ppy)3]. The presence of the phosphor at low concentration allows for the population of the long-lived NPD triplet state and an increase in LD. An increase in the NPD LD from 6.5±0.3 to 11.8±0.6 nm is extracted from measurements of the external quantum efficiency for donor layers containing 5 wt % Ir(ppy)3. This enhancement leads to a ∼80% improvement in the power conversion efficiency relative to devices containing an undoped donor layer.