Energy-Level Alignment of a Hole-Transport Organic Layer and ITO: Toward Applications for Organic Electronic Devices

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 as well as 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 ITO/DIPO-Ph₄ interface. To interpret our spectroscopic data, we consider the formation of cationic DIPO-Ph₄ at the ITO interface owing to a charge transfer from the organic layer to the substrate. Ionization energy DFT calculations of the neutral and cationic species substantiate this hypothesis. Finally, we present the energetic diagram of the ITO/DIPO-Ph₄ system, and we discuss the application of this interface in various technologically relevant systems, as a hole-injector in OLEDs or as a hole-collector interfacial layer adjacent to the prototypical OPV layer P3HT:PCBM.