Solution-Processed Fe3O4 Magnetic Nanoparticle Thin Film Aligned by an External Magnetostatic Field as a Hole Extraction Layer for Polymer Solar Cells
- Kai Wang ,
- He Ren ,
- Chao Yi ,
- Chang Liu ,
- Hangxing Wang ,
- Lin Huang ,
- Haoli Zhang ,
- Alamgir Karim , and
- Xiong Gong
Abstract

We report, for the first time, the effect of a solution-processed Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) thin film and a Fe3O4 MNP thin film aligned by an external magnetostatic field, used as a hole extraction layer (HEL), respectively, in polymer solar cells (PSCs). The thin film of a Fe3O4 MNP shows a smoother surface, better transparency, and higher electrical conductivity than that of a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) thin layer. Moreover, the thin film of a Fe3O4 MNP aligned by an external magnetostatic field possesses an enhanced electrical conductivity and lower internal series resistance, thus leading to greater than 13% enhancement in the power conversion efficiency of PSCs than those using a PEDOT:PSS thin film. It was also found that PSCs incorporated with a Fe3O4 MNP shows better stability compared with those using PEDOT:PSS as an anode buffer layer. These results demonstrated that utilization of a Fe3O4 MNP as a HEL in PSCs blazes a trail to achieve highly efficient and long-time-stable devices.
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