Energy level alignment of a hole-transport organic layer and ITO: Towards applications for organic electronic devices

Quentin Arnoux (1, 2, 3) , Anthony Boucly (1) , Vincent Barth (2, 3) , Rabah Benbalagh (1) , Albano Cossaro (4) , Luca Floreano (4) , Mathieu G Silly (5) , Fausto Sirotti (5) , Etienne Derat (2) , Stephane Carniato (1) , Fabrice Bournel (1, 5) , Jean-Jacques G Gallet (1, 5) , Denis Fichou (6, 2) , Ludovic Tortech (2, 3) , Francois Rochet (1, 5)

1 LCPMR - Laboratoire de Chimie Physique - Matière et Rayonnement
2 IPCM - Institut Parisien de Chimie Moléculaire
3 LICSEN - Laboratoire Innovation en Chimie des Surfaces et NanoSciences
4 TASC - Laboratorio Nazionale TASC
5 SSOLEIL - Synchrotron SOLEIL
6 SPMS-PAP-02-01 - Division of Physics and Applied Physics [Nanyang Technological University]

2,2’,6,6’-tetraphenyl-4,4’-dipyranylidene (DIPO-Ph4) was grown by vacuum-deposition on an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate. The films were characterized by atomic force microscopy and synchrotron radiation UV and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to gain an insight into the material growth and to better understand the electronic properties of the DIPO-Ph4/ITO interface. Results show formation of cationic DIPO-Ph4 at ITO interface with a charge transfer from the organic layer to the anode material. This has been confronted to DFT calculations. We present as a conclusion the energetic diagram of the DIPO-Ph4/ITO system and some perspectives with a typical photovoltaic active layer: P3HT:PCBM.

Keywords: Charge transfer; Interfacial layer; Organic solar cells; Hole-transport layer; Metal/Organic interface; Photoemission spectroscopy

Domains: Material chemistry

Quentin Arnoux, Anthony Boucly, Vincent Barth, Rabah Benbalagh, Albano Cossaro, et al.. Energy level alignment of a hole-transport organic layer and ITO: Towards applications for organic electronic devices. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2017, 9 (36), pp.30992-31004. ⟨10.1021/acsami.7b06691⟩. ⟨cea-01575439⟩