Correlation of open-circuit voltage and energy levels in zinc-phthalocyanine: C60 bulk heterojunction solar cells with varied mixing ratio

Max L. Tietze, Wolfgang Tress, Steffen Pfützner, Christoph Schünemann, Lorenzo Burtone, Moritz Riede, Karl Leo, Koen Vandewal, Selina Olthof, Philip Schulz, Antoine Kahn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

72 Scopus citations

Abstract

The maximum open-circuit voltage VOC of bulk-heterojunction solar cells is limited by the effective HOMO(donor)-LUMO(acceptor) gap of the photoactive absorber blend. We investigate blend layers comprising zinc-phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and the buckminster fullerene C60 with ultraviolet, x-ray, and inverse photoelectron spectroscopy. By varying the volume mixing ratio ZnPc:C60 from 6:1 to 1:6, we observe a linear increase of the HOMO(ZnPc)-LUMO(C60) gap by 0.25 eV. The trend in this gap correlates with the change in the charge transfer energy measured by Fourier-transform photocurrent spectroscopy as well as with the observed open-circuit voltage of solar cells containing ZnPc:C60 as the photoactive absorber layer. Furthermore, the morphology of different ZnPc:C 60 blend layers is investigated by grazing-incidence x-ray diffraction. As physical origins for the changed energy levels, a suppressed crystallization of the C60 phase in the presence of donor molecules as well as concentration-dependent growth modes of the ZnPc phase are suggested.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number085119
JournalPhysical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Volume88
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 20 2013

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Correlation of open-circuit voltage and energy levels in zinc-phthalocyanine: C60 bulk heterojunction solar cells with varied mixing ratio'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this