Effects of Organic Solvents for Composite Active Layer of PCDTBT/PC71BM on Characteristics of Organic Solar Cell Devices

Bulk heterojunction (BHJ) structure based active layers of PCDTBT/PC71BM were prepared by using different organic solvents for fabrication of organic solar cell (OSC) devices. Mixture of precursor solutions of PCDTBT/PC71BM in three different organic solvents was prepared to fabricate composite active layers by spin-coating process: chloroform; chlorobenzene; o-dichlorobenzene. Four different blend ratios (1 : 3–1 : 6) of PCDTBT: PC71BM were adopted for each organic solvent to clarify the effect on the resulting OSC device characteristics. Surface morphology of the active layers was distinctively affected by the blend ratio of PCDTBT/PC71BM in organic solvents. Influence of the blend ratio of PCDTBT/PC71BM on the OSC device parameters was discussed. Performance parameters of the resulting OSC devices with different composite active layers were comparatively investigated. Appropriate blend ratio and organic solvent to achieve better OSC device performance were proposed. Furthermore, from the UV-Vis spectrum of each active layer prepared using the PCDTBT/PC71BM mixed solution dissolved with different organic solvents, a possibility that the nanophase separation structure inside their active layer could appear was suggested.