Graphene oxide-doped PEDOT:PSS as hole transport layer in inverted bulk heterojunction solar cell

Abstract

Transparent poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly (styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is widely used hole conducting material in optoelectronic devices. Secondary doping of PEDOT:PSS enables the tunability of its electronic properties. In this work, graphene oxide (GO) was used as a secondary dopant for PEDOT:PSS and the doped materials (composites) were tested for their efficiency as hole transport material in inverted bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cell. The composites were studied to unveil the effects of Coulombic interaction between GO and PEDOT:PSS where we note some segregation of PEDOT phase. We found that the GO majorly interacts with PSS through oxygeneous functional groups which promote the detachment of PEDOT from PSS and segregation of PEDOT. Electrochemical properties with and without illumination revealed some photo-induced changes to surface of the samples. Device performances showed about 2.2% efficiency enhancement when GO doping level was 0.25 (v:v) when compared to that of pristine PEDOT:PSS.