Photovoltaic cells with a conjugated polyelectrolyte

We describe photovoltaic cells made from a novel conjugated polyelectrolyte, the lithium salt of poly(thiophene-3-acetic acid) (PTAA-Li). The aqueous solubility of this polyelectrolyte allows formation of blend electrodes with a dispersion of the metallic polymer Poly(Ethylene DiOxyThiophene) (PEDOT). The incident monochromatic photon to current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of the cells were improved up to 19% by blending PTAA-Li with PEDOT to modify the ITO electrode, in combination with the low bandgap polymer poly(3-(4-octylphenyl)thiophene) (POPT), and C60 as electron acceptor. We attribute the increase of efficiency to the improved contact area between the conjugated polyelectrolyte and PEDOT.