One-step synthesis of carbon nanosheets converted from a polycyclic compound and their direct use as transparent electrodes of ITO-free organic solar cells

Through a catalyst- and transfer-free process, we fabricated indium tin oxide (ITO)-free organic solar cells (OSCs) using a carbon nanosheet (CNS) with properties similar to graphene. The morphological and electrical properties of the CNS derived from a polymer of intrinsic microporosity-1 (PIM-1), which is mainly composed of several aromatic hydrocarbons and cycloalkanes, can be easily controlled by adjusting the polymer concentration. The CNSs, which are prepared by simple spin-coating and heat-treatment on a quartz substrate, are directly used as the electrodes of ITO-free OSCs, showing a high efficiency of approximately 1.922% under 100 mW cm^-2 illumination and air mass 1.5 G conditions. This catalyst- and transfer-free approach is highly desirable for electrodes in organic electronics.