Dongguen Shin

Interfacial energy level alignments between low-band-gap polymer PTB7 and indium zinc oxide anode

The interfacial energy level alignments between poly(thieno[3,4-b]-thiophene)-co-benzodithiophene (PTB7) and indium zinc oxide (IZO) were investigated. In situ ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy measurements were conducted with the step-by-step deposition of PTB7 on IZO substrate. All spectral changes were analyzed between each deposition step, and interfacial energy level alignments were estimated. The hole barrier of standard ultraviolet-ozone treated IZO is 0.58 eV, which is lower than the value of 1.09 eV obtained for bare IZO. The effect of barrier reduction on the hole transport was also confirmed with electrical measurements of hole-dominated devices.

Band-Tail Transport of CuSCN: Origin of Hole Extraction Enhancement in Organic Photovoltaics.

Copper thiocyanate (CuSCN) is known as a promising hole transport layer in organic photovoltaics (OPVs) due to its good hole conduction and exciton blocking abilities with high transparency. Despite its successful device applications, the origin of its hole extraction enhancement in OPVs has not yet been understood. Here, we investigated the electronic structure of CuSCN and the energy level alignment at the poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT)/CuSCN/ITO interfaces using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. The band-tail states of CuSCN close to the Fermi level (EF) were observed at 0.25 eV below the EF, leading to good hole transport. The CuSCN interlayer significantly reduces the hole transport barrier between ITO and P3HT due to its high work function and band-tail states. The barrier reduction leads to enhanced current density-voltage characteristics of hole-dominated devices. These results provide the origin of hole-extraction enhancement by CuSCN and insights for further application.

Strong interfacial dipole formation with thermal evaporation of lithium cobalt oxide for efficient electron injections

We investigated the electronic structures at the interface of Al/lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2)/tris(8-hydoxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3) to elucidate the origin of the electron injection enhancement with the insertion of the LiCoO2 layer in organic light-emitting devices using in situ photoelectron spectroscopy experiments. We discovered that LiCoO2 was decomposed into lithium oxide (Li2O) by thermal evaporation, and only Li2O was deposited on the desired substrate. Li2O forms a strong interfacial dipole, which reduces the surface potential on Alq3 due to its extremely low work function. As a result, the electron injection barrier was dramatically decreased by the Li2O layer. Furthermore, there is no strong chemical interaction at the interface of Al/Li2O/Alq3; hence, this would contribute to extend the device lifetime.

Rapid Formation of a Disordered Layer on Monoclinic BiVO4: Co-Catalyst-Free Photoelectrochemical Solar Water Splitting

A surface disordered layer is a plausible approach to improve the photoelectrochemical performance of TiO2 . However, the formation of a crystalline disordered layer in BiVO4 and its effectiveness towards photoelectrochemical water splitting has remained a big challenge. Here, we report a rapid solution process (within 5 s) that is able to form a disordered layer of a few nanometers thick on the surface of BiVO4 nanoparticles using a specific solution with a controllable reducing power. The disordered layer on BiVO4 alleviates charge recombination at the electrode-electrolyte interface and reduces the onset potential greatly, which in turn results in a photocurrent density of approximately 2.3 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). This value is 2.1 times higher than that of bare BiVO4 . The enhanced photoactivity is attributed to the increased charge separation and transfer efficiencies, which resolve the intrinsic drawbacks of bare BiVO4 such as the short hole diffusion length of around 100 nm and poor surface oxygen evolution reactivity.

Unraveling the Charge Extraction Mechanism of Perovskite Solar Cells Fabricated with Two-Step Spin Coating: Interfacial Energetics between Methylammonium Lead Iodide and C60

In organolead halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs), interfacial properties between the perovskite and charge transport layers are the critical factors governing charge extraction efficiency. In this study, the effect of interfacial energetics between two-step spin-coated methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) with different methylammonium iodide (MAI) concentrations and C60 on the charge extraction efficiency is investigated. The electronic structures of perovskite films are significantly varied by the MAI concentrations due to the changes in the residual precursor and MA+ defect content. As compared to the optimum PSCs with 25 mg mL-1 MAI, PSCs with other MAI concentrations show significantly lower power conversion efficiencies and severe hysteresis. The energy level alignment at the C60/MAPbI3 interface determined by ultraviolet and inverse photoelectron spectroscopy measurements reveals the origin of distinct differences in device performances. The conduction band offset at the C60/MAPbI3 interface plays a crucial role in efficient charge extraction in PSCs.

Introducing paired electric dipole layers for efficient and reproducible perovskite solar cells

Elimination of charge trapping at defects is highly challenging for poly-crystalline organometal halide perovskites. Here, we report a new architecture for reinforcing the built-in electric field (Ein) across the photoactive layer with a pair of strong electric dipole layers (EDLs). The paired EDLs significantly intensify the Ein across the perovskite layer, resulting in suppressed charge trapping of photogenerated charges. As a result, our low-temperature processed P–I–N planar PeSC devices using the paired EDLs exhibit a higher power conversion efficiency (ηmax ∼ 19.4%) and a smaller device-to-device variation with a standard deviation (S.D.) of 0.70%, which far surpass those (ηmax ∼ 17.8%, S.D. ∼ 1.1%) of the devices with typical charge transport layers.