Inkjet printed silver nanowire percolation networks as electrodes for highly efficient semitransparent organic solar cells

• Inkjet printing of silver nanowires (AgNW) of 30 μm in length has been achieved.
• Without ultrasonic scission of the wires or silver nitrate addition.
• Non-aqueous AgNW ink formulation allows printing also on water sensitive substrates.
• High boiling point alcohol component of AgNW ink prevents nozzle clogging.
• Fully ink jet printed organic solar cells with AgNW electrodes reach PCE of 4.3%.

In this work, we demonstrate inkjet printing of silver nanowires (AgNW) with an average length of 10's of μm using industrial printheads with nozzle diameters in the same size range. The printed silver nanowire mesh reveals uniform distribution and a good balance between conductivity and transmittance, which is comparable to layers fabricated by conventional methods like slot-die or spray coating. Employing a novel AgNW ink formulation based on a high boiling alcohol allows printing directly on PEDOT:PSS and prevents nozzle clogging. Using silver nanowire meshes as bottom and top electrodes, a fully inkjet printed semitransparent organic solar cell with a power conversion efficiency of 4.3% for 1 cm2 area is demonstrated, which is the highest value reported so far for fully inkjet printed organic photovoltaic cells.

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