Smart Targeting Layer on Silver Nanowire Electrodes Achieving Efficiency Breakthroughs in ITO-Free Conventional Flexible Organic Solar Cells
Jinfeng Xia1, Juan Zhu1(朱娟)*, Haiyang Chen1, Guang Zeng1, Juanyong Wan1, Ben Zhang1, Seunglok Lee2, Jiacheng Xu1, Jianlei Cao1, Xiaoxiao Wu1, Junyuan Ding1, Leishuo Yang1, Weijie Chen1, Changduk Yang2,6*, Yaowen Li1,3,4(李耀文)*, Yongfang Li1,3,5
1Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Materials, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Novel Semiconductor-optoelectronics Materials and Devices, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
2School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 50 UNIST-gil, Ulju-gun, Ulsan 44919, South Korea
3State Key Laboratory of Bioinspired interfacial Materials Science,Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
4Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies,Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
5Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences; CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry,Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
6Graduate School of Carbon Neutrality, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 50 UNIST-gil,Ulju-gun, Ulsan 44919, South Korea
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.2025,64,e202501270
Abstract:Silver nanowire (AgNW) electrodes, known for their intrinsic flexibility and tunable optoelectronic properties, have garnered considerable attention for use in flexible organic solar cells (OSCs). However, in conventional OSCs, their low work function (WF) causes energy-level mismatches with classic aqueous hole transport layers (HTLs), while their poor hydrophilicity hinders the formation of optimized HTL morphology and crystallinity, posing challenges to their integration into high-performance OSCs. To address these issues, functionally targeted molecules with a thiol group at one end and strong electron-withdrawing, hydrophilic functional groups at the other are precisely engineered to wrap around the AgNW electrodes. The thiol group facilitates the formation of robust self-assembled molecules (SAMs) on the AgNW electrodes through stable S−Ag chemical bonds at room temperature. The strong electron-withdrawing groups generate notable molecular and interfacial dipoles that effectively raise the WF of AgNW electrodes. Notably, the hydrophilic groups not only improve electrode wettability but also promote strong hydrogen bonding interactions with HTL, leading to substantial improvements in the morphology and crystallinity of the HTL. This precision wrapping strategy enables the fabrication of high-efficient conventional flexible OSCs, achieving a record power conversion efficiency of 18.84 % (certified at 18.56 %) for flexible OSCs based on ITO-free transparent electrodes.
Article information: //doi.org/10.1002/anie.202501270
