Aqueous Solution-Deposited Molybdenum Oxide Films as an Anode Interfacial Layer for Organic Solar Cells

In this study, we report the growth of molybdenum oxide (MoOx) film by polymer-assisted deposition (PAD), an environmentally friendly strategy in an aqueous system. The MoOx film has good crystal quality and is dense and smooth. The transparency of the film is >95% in the wavelength range of 300–900 nm. The device based on P3HT:PCBM absorber material was fabricated. The solar cell with PAD-MoOx as an anode interfacial layer exhibits great performance, even better than that of a solar cell with PEDOT:PSS or evaporated MoOx as an anode interfacial layer. More importantly, the solar cells based on the growth of MoOx have a longer term stability than that of solar cells based on PEDOT:PSS. These results demonstrate the aqueous PAD technology provides an alternative strategy not only for the thin films’ growth of applied materials but also for the solution processing for the low-cost fabrication of future materials to be applied in the field of solar cells.