Wei Junfeng, Ji Guoqi, Zhang Chujun, Yan Lingpeng, Luo Qun, Wang Cheng, Chen Qi, Yang Junliang, Chen Liwei, Ma Chang-Qi
Printable Electronics Research Center (SINANO) , Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology , Suzhou , 215123 , People's Republic of China.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , 100049 , People's Republic of China.
ACS Nano. 2018 Jun 26;12(6):5518-5529. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.8b01178. Epub 2018 Jun 14.
Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles are widely used as electron- transport layer (ETL) materials in organic solar cells and are considered to be the candidate with the most potential for ETLs in roll-to-roll (R2R)-printed photovoltaics. However, the tendency of the nanoparticles to aggregate reduces the stability of the metal oxide inks and creates many surface defects, which is a major barrier to its printing application. With the aim of improving the stability of metal oxide nanoparticle dispersions and suppressing the formation of surface defects, we prepared 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS)-capped ZnO (ZnO@APTMS) nanoparticles through surface ligand exchange. The ZnO@APTMS nanoparticles exhibited excellent dispersibility in ethanol, an environmentally friendly solvent, and remained stable in air for at least one year without any aggregation. The capping of the ZnO nanoparticles with APTMS also reduced the number of surface-adsorbed oxygen defects, improved the charge transfer efficiency, and suppressed the light-soaking effect. The thickness of the ZnO@APTMS ETL could reach 100 nm without an obvious decrease in the performance. Large-area APTMS-modified ZnO films were successfully fabricated through roll-to-roll microgravure printing and exhibited good performance in flexible organic solar cells. This work demonstrated the distinct advantages of this ZnO@APTMS ETL as a potential buffer layer for printed organic electronics.
氧化锌（ZnO）纳米颗粒作为电子传输层（ETL）材料在有机太阳能电池中被广泛应用，并且被认为是卷对卷（R2R）印刷光伏中最具潜力的ETL候选材料。然而，纳米颗粒的聚集趋势降低了金属氧化物油墨的稳定性，并产生许多表面缺陷，这是其印刷应用的主要障碍。为了提高金属氧化物纳米颗粒分散体的稳定性并抑制表面缺陷的形成，我们通过表面配体交换制备了3-氨丙基三甲氧基硅烷（APTMS）包覆的ZnO（ZnO@APTMS）纳米颗粒。ZnO@APTMS纳米颗粒在环保溶剂乙醇中表现出优异的分散性，并且在空气中至少保持一年稳定而无任何聚集。用APTMS包覆ZnO纳米颗粒还减少了表面吸附的氧缺陷数量，提高了电荷转移效率，并抑制了光浸泡效应。ZnO@APTMS ETL的厚度可达100 nm而性能无明显下降。通过卷对卷凹版印刷成功制备了大面积的APTMS改性ZnO薄膜，并且在柔性有机太阳能电池中表现出良好的性能。这项工作证明了这种ZnO@APTMS ETL作为印刷有机电子潜在缓冲层的显著优势。
