Organic Nanostructured Materials for Sustainable Application in Next Generation Solar Cells

Abstract

Meeting our current energy demands requires a reliable and efficient renewable energy source that will bring balance between power generation and energy consumption. Organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs), perovskite solar cells and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are among the next-generation technologies that are progressing as potential sustainable renewable energy sources. Since the discoveries of highly conductive organic charge-transfer compounds in the 1950s, organic semiconductors have captured attention. Organic photovoltaic solar cells possess key characteristics ideal for emerging next-generation technologies such as being nontoxic, abundant, an inexpensive nanomaterial with ease of production, including production under ambient conditions. In this review article, we discuss recent methods developed towards improving the stability and average efficiency of nanostructured materials in OPVs aimed at sustainable agriculture and improve land-use efficiency. A comprehensive overview on developing cost-effective and user-friendly organic solar cells to contribute towards improved environmental stability is provided. We also summarize recent advances in the synthetic methods used to produce nanostructured active absorber layers of OPVs with improved efficiencies to supply the energy required towards ending poverty and protecting the planet.

Doping with Niobium Nanoparticles as an Approach to Increase the Power Conversion Efficiency of P3HT:PCBM Polymer Solar Cells

“…Organic solar cells (OSCs) have been the subject of intense research interest recently, due to their many desirable qualities, including their portability, low price, simple processing, environmental friendliness, and the possibility of producing them on a large scale using a flexible roll-to-roll method [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Energy is converted in OSCs by the generation of excitons upon light absorption, their subsequent diffusion, their dissociation into free carriers at the junction between the donor and acceptor, and their subsequent transport to the corresponding electrodes [ 4 , 5 ]. Blends of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) and fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) are some of the most extensively investigated D-A combinations reported [ 6 , 7 ].…”