Intrinsically inert hyperbranched interlayer for enhanced stability of organic solar cells

Abstract Device stability becomes one of the most crucial issues for the commercialization of organic solar cells (OSCs) after high power conversion efficiencies have been achieved. Besides the intrinsic stability of photoactive materials, the chemical/catalytic reaction between interfacial materials and photoactive materials is another critical factor that determines the stability of OSC devices. Herein, we design and synthesize a reaction-inert rylene diimide-embedded hyperbranched polymer named as PDIEIE, which effectively reduces the work function of indium tin oxide electrode from 4.62 to 3.65 eV. Meanwhile, PDIEIE shows negligible chemical reaction with high-performance photoactive materials and no catalytic effect under strong ultraviolet illumination, resulting in much better photo-stability of OSCs with PDIEIE cathode interlayer (CIL), relative to the traditional CILs, including most-widely used metal oxides and polyethyleneimine derivatives.