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Spray‐Coated Polymer Solar Cells based on Low‐Band‐Gap Donors Processed with ortho ‐Xylene
Author(s) -
La Notte Luca,
Polino Giuseppina,
Ciceroni Claudio,
Brunetti Francesca,
Brown Thomas M.,
Di Carlo Aldo,
Reale Andrea
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.201402059
Subject(s) - materials science , polymer , band gap , coating , photovoltaic system , spin coating , solvent , chemical engineering , xylene , deposition (geology) , polymer solar cell , energy conversion efficiency , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , composite material , organic chemistry , chemistry , ecology , paleontology , benzene , sediment , engineering , biology
The use of low‐band‐gap polymer donors in the field of polymer solar cells (PSCs) allows to reduce the gap with other consolidated photovoltaic technologies because high conversion efficiencies can be achieved. Unfortunately, optimal performance is strongly correlated to the use of chlorinated solvents, known to be harmful in working conditions due to their toxicity towards environment and human health. For this reason, high‐performing PSCs have been deposited via small‐area techniques. We report on the use of a PBDTTT‐C‐T:PC 70 BM blend dissolved in the non‐chlorinated solvent ortho ‐xylene for the deposition of spin‐coated and spray‐coated active layers in direct PSCs. An impressive conversion efficiency of 8 % is obtained for the spin‐coated blend, whereas the significant value of 4.4 % is achieved by using the spray‐coated blend. The work opens the way to the use of low‐band‐gap materials in spray coating, a non‐wasteful technique compatible with coating large areas.