Emphasizing the Operational Role of a Novel Graphene-Based Ink into High Performance Ternary Organic Solar Cells

A novel solution-processed, graphene-based material was synthesized by treating graphene oxide (GO) with 2,5,7-trinitro-9-oxo-fluorenone-4-carboxylic acid (TNF-COOH) moieties, via simple synthetic routes. The yielded molecule N-[(carbamoyl-GO)ethyl]-N′-[(carbamoyl)-(2,5,7-trinitro-9-oxo-fluorene)] (GO-TNF) was thoroughly characterized and it was shown that it presents favorable highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels to function as a bridge component between the polymeric donor poly({4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl}{3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl] thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl}) (PTB7) and the fullerene derivative acceptor [6,6]-phenyl-C(71)-butyric-acid-methylester (PC(71)BM). In this context, a GO-TNF based ink was prepared and directly incorporated within the binary photoactive layer, in different volume ratios (1%–3% ratio to the blend) for the effective realization of inverted ternary organic solar cells (OSCs) of the structure ITO/PFN/PTB7:GO-TNF:PC(71)BM/MoO(3)/Al. The addition of 2% v/v GO-TNF ink led to a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.71% that was enhanced by ~13% as compared to the reference cell.