Inkjet Printed Photoactive Material for Flexible Polymer Solar Cells

Abstract

Polymer solar cells were manufactured by inkjet printing the regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT):[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) blend. Active material based inks were prepared by dissolving the blend in single solvents, 1,2-dichlorobenzene and chlorobenzene, and their mixture. For each ink, the printing parameters such as substrate temperature and drop overlapping degree, were optimized to improve the reproducibility of the deposition process and the structural quality of the final films. The influence of the chemicophysical properties of the solvent on the morphology of the active layer was investigated through optical and profilometric analyses. The electrical measurements indicated that the solar cell devices with P3HT:PCBM dissolved in the solvent mixture had the better performances reaching a power conversion efficiency of 2.4 %.