Organosilica Nanodots Doped ZnO Cathode Interface Layer for Highly Efficient and Stable Inverted Polymer Solar Cells

Interfacial engineering is essential to achieve optical efficiencies and facilitate the industrialization of organic solar cells (OSCs). By doping organosilica nanodots (OSiNDs) into zinc oxide (ZnO), we have developed a hybrid ZnO/OSiNDs (4 wt %) cathode interface layer (CIL) that significantly enhances the overall performance of inverted organic solar cells (i-OSCs). In the PM6/BTP-eC9 active layer system, i-OSC devices with a ZnO/OSiNDs (4 wt %) CIL exhibit a superior power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.49%, surpassing that of reference devices with a pure ZnO CIL (15.88%). The OSiNDs not only modulate the work function of ZnO, thereby facilitating the carrier transport between ZnO interface and active layer, but also enhance device stability. After exposure to 1200 min of 100 mW/cm² illumination, including UV light, the devices retain 89.4% of their initial PCE, whereas devices based solely on ZnO retain only 57.7% under identical conditions. In this study, we present pioneering insights into the selection of environmentally friendly and cost-effective OSiNDs for modifying ZnO to create organic–inorganic hybrid coordination complexes as effective CILs.