ZnO quantum dots as an electron-transport layer for highly efficient and stable organic solar cells

Saboor A, Stroyuk O, Raievska O, Liu C, Hauch J, Brabec C (2025)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Nanoscale Royal Society of Chemistry

Book Volume: 17

Pages Range: 16873-16881

Journal Issue: 28

DOI: 10.1039/d5nr01722j

Abstract

An advanced protocol for the mild synthesis of stable and concentrated ZnO quantum dots (QDs) yields colloidal inks suitable for applications in electron-transport layers (ETLs) of organic solar cells, delivering superior power conversion efficiency (PCE) and photodegradation stability as compared to bulk-like commercially available ZnO inks. The champion ZnO QDs-based devices with a quaternary PM6 : L8BO : BTP-eC9 : PC70BM absorber exhibit a PCE of 18.86%, surpassing similar cells with bulk-like ZnO ETL (18.15%). The ZnO QDs exhibited size-dependent electron-transport efficiency, with the highest performance achieved for QDs of 4.4-4.5 nm, decreasing for larger QDs down to the level of the bulk-like ZnO reference. A correlation between the photoluminescence and electron-transport efficiencies of ZnO quantum dots (QDs) was observed and interpreted in terms of an interplay between the defect state density and exciton confinement in size-selected ZnO QDs.

Authors with CRIS profile

Abdus Saboor Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) Jens Hauch Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) Christoph Brabec Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET)

Involved external institutions

Helmholtz-Institut Erlangen-Nürnberg für Erneuerbare Energien (HI-ERN) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Saboor, A., Stroyuk, O., Raievska, O., Liu, C., Hauch, J., & Brabec, C. (2025). ZnO quantum dots as an electron-transport layer for highly efficient and stable organic solar cells. Nanoscale, 17(28), 16873-16881. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5nr01722j

MLA:

Saboor, Abdus, et al. "ZnO quantum dots as an electron-transport layer for highly efficient and stable organic solar cells." Nanoscale 17.28 (2025): 16873-16881.

BibTeX: Download