Highly Conductive PEDOT:PSS Electrode with Optimized Solvent and Thermal Post-Treatment for ITO-Free Organic Solar Cells

Highly conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) films as stand-alone electrodes for organic solar cells have been optimized using a solvent post-treatment method. The treated PEDOT: PSS films show enhanced conductivities up to 1418 S cm(-1), accompanied by structural and chemical changes. The effect of the solvent treatment on PEDOT: PSS has been investigated in detail and is shown to cause a reduction of insulating PSS in the conductive polymer layer. Using these optimized electrodes, ITO-free, small molecule organic solar cells with a zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc): fullerene C-60 bulk heterojunction have been produced on glass and PET substrates. The system was further improved by pre-heating the PEDOT: PSS electrodes, which enhanced the power conversion efficiency to the values obtained for solar cells on ITO electrodes. The results show that optimized PEDOT: PSS with solvent and thermal post-treatment can be a very promising electrode material for highly efficient flexible ITO-free organic solar cells.