Emerging Organic/Hybrid Photovoltaic Cells for Indoor Applications: Recent Advances and Perspectives

Abstract

Due to the continuous development and advances in the Internet of Things, wireless sensors, actuators for human−interactive machines, and indoor low‐power devices require a continuous supply of energy. Photovoltaic cells working under indoor light are suitable candidates for charging these devices because of their high voltages (up to 5 V), low costs, and environmental friendliness. Herein, the research on organic photovoltaic, dye‐sensitized, and perovskite cells in indoor photovoltaic applications with respect to the active layer, modified layer, and preparation process is summarized. The performance enhancement of indoor photovoltaic cells is outlined, including photoactive material selection, bandgap optimization, modification layer function, and device structure design, followed by the prospects and challenges of future developments in indoor photovoltaic cells. With this review an important perspective for the advancement of indoor photovoltaics is offered.

Dye‐sensitized solar cells as promising candidates for underwater photovoltaic applications

“…Taking these results into consideration and accepting the fact that majority of outdoor light harvesting c‐Si‐based PV have bandgaps of 1.1 eV, it is clear that emerging PV technologies should be explored in more detail. One class of promising PV are dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), which are able to harness indoor lights and shows unprecedented power conversion efficiencies up to 34.5% using an artificial warm white light 26–28 . DSSCs' performance has been steadily improving over the years, 29 because there are many opportunities to utilize different materials, microstructures, and natural pigments to improve PCE 27–32 .…”

“…One class of promising PV are dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), which are able to harness indoor lights and shows unprecedented power conversion efficiencies up to 34.5% using an artificial warm white light 26–28 . DSSCs' performance has been steadily improving over the years, 29 because there are many opportunities to utilize different materials, microstructures, and natural pigments to improve PCE 27–32 . Additionally, DSSCs possess unique advantages such as simple fabrication process, cost‐effectiveness, and locally procurable raw materials, all of which makes them viable for commercialization in an environmentally sustainable way 33–37 .…”

“…[26][27][28] DSSCs' performance has been steadily improving over the years, 29 because there are many opportunities to utilize different materials, microstructures, and natural pigments to improve PCE. [27][28][29][30][31][32] Additionally, DSSCs possess unique advantages such as simple fabrication process, cost-effectiveness, and locally procurable raw materials, all of which makes them viable for commercialization in an environmentally sustainable way. [33][34][35][36][37] In a recent study, Li and co-workers fabricated DSSCs using natural and artificial phycobilisomes and mentioned that these devices has the capability to capture underwater low light, but, they carried out all measurements in under full sun conditions.…”

Perovskite Photovoltaics for Artificial Light Harvesting

“…As a result, perovskites have surpassed other third-generation photovoltaic technologies. [28][29][30] Perovskite materials are represented by the generalized formula ABX 3 : the cubo-octahedral A site is occupied by an organic or inorganic cation such as methylammonium + (MA + ), formamidinium + (FA + ), Cs + , and Rb + ; the octahedral B site is occupied by a divalent cation such as Pb 2 + , Sn 2 + , and Ge 2 + ; and the octahedral X sites are filled by halogens such as Cl À , Br À , and I À (Figure 1c). [10,31] This class of materials exhibits remarkable optoelectronic properties, including tunable bandgaps aided via compositional engineering, high absorption coefficients, low exciton binding energies, high charge-carrier mobilities, and long carrier diffusion lengths, affording their suitability as excellent photo-absorbers for artificial light harvesting.…”

“…There has been growing interest in researching perovskite applications and a steady rise in perovskite device efficiency. As a result, perovskites have surpassed other third‐generation photovoltaic technologies [28–30] …”