Yet another poor man's green bulk heterojunction photocells: Annealing effect and film composition dependence of photovoltaic devices using poly(3-hexylthiophene):C70 composites prepared with chlorine-free solvent

Chemically modified fullerenes and chlorinated solvents have been predominantly chosen in the recent studies of the photovoltaic devices based on polymer bulk heterojunction composites. However, these items seem to be undesirable because of their potential impacts on the environment as well as the consumption of resources. In this context, a systematic study on the annealing effect and film composition dependence of bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices based on composites consisting of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and neat C70 prepared with a chlorine-free solvent 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene has been carried out. For the device using P3HT:C70 composite (2:1 by weight) film as an active layer, power conversion efficiency of 1.47%, with open-circuit voltage of 0.52 V, short-circuit current density of 6.2 mA/cm2 and fill-factor of 45%, has been obtained after post-production annealing at 160 °C. The combination of neat fullerenes with naturally obtained solvents will open up a new way to produce cost-effective and environmentally-friendly photovoltaic devices based on polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunction composites.

► Photovoltaic devices based on BHJ with poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and neat C70 were studied.
► Composites were prepared with a chlorine-free solvent 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene (TMB).
► Highest PCE of 1.47% was obtained in the device with P3HT:C70=2:1 composite under AM 1.5G 1 sun.
► TMB is a promising solvent for the production of cost-effective and environmentally-friendly PVC.