A major challenge in organic solar cell design is the trade-off between oxidative stability and work function of the metal cathode. Prof. Todd Emrick’s group in University of Massachusetts found that in single-junction polymer solar cells, this problem can be surmounted by solution-based incorporation of fulleropyrrolidines with amine (C60-N) or zwitterionic (C60-SB) substituents as cathode-independent buffer layers. Specifically, a thin layer of C60-N reduced the effective work function of Ag, Cu, and Au electrodes to 3.65 electron volts. Power conversion efficiency values exceeding 8.5% were obtained for organic photovoltaics independent of the cathode selection (Al, Ag, Cu, or Au). Such high efficiencies did not require precise control over interlayer thickness, as devices prepared with C60-N and C60-SB layers ranging from 5 to 55 nanometers performed with high efficiency.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/346/6208/441.full