Development and application of blade-coating technique in organic solar cells

Due to the characteristics of lower material waste, higher crystallinity, roll-to-roll compatibility, and high-throughput continuous processing, blade-coating has been widely applied in the preparation of large-area organic solar cells. In this paper, the technique of blade-coating is introduced, including the effects of blading speed, substrate temperature, and other technological innovations during the process of blade-coating. Besides, the recent progress of blade-coating in organic solar cells is summarized and the active layer prepared by a blade-coating method is introduced in detail, including materials, processing methods, solvents, and additives. The interface layer and electrodes prepared by the blade-coating method are also discussed. Finally, some perspectives on the blade-coating method are proposed. In the foreseeable future, blade-coating will become the core of batch production of large-area organic solar cells, so as to make organic solar cells more competitive.