Progress on Organic Solar Cells: A Short Review

Abstract

Thin film organic solar cells have emerged as a replacement to inorganic solar cells based on silicon. Organic solar cells offer several advantages compared to silicon-based devices. In the last 10 years, concentrated research attempts towards accomplishing the mandatory power conversion efficiency of 10 % and environmental stability of the device still remain a main challenge. In order to influence the efficiency, polymers are frequently utilized to fabricate the absorber and buffer layers. Also, binary and tenary polymer blends have been devised to influence the performance in micro/nanostructures. In addition, the advantages of organic solar cells for realistic application, and potential solutions are also considered.

Molecular structure – intrinsic photostability relationships for diketopyrrolopyrrole-based conjugated polymers

“…These reactions are, contrary to (3)(4)(5), entropically favored and are quite endothermic at 0 K: DE(0 K) = 1.73 eV (for 7) and 1.47 eV (for 8). As such, we expect these reactions to be more dominant at higher temperatures and reactions (3-5) at lower temperatures.…”

“…Organic solar cells represent an exciting technology, which features potential for multiple unique applications in buildingintegrated photovoltaics (PVs), for example, self-powered smart windows, textile-integrated PVs (e.g., wearable electronics), efficient energy harvesting under indoor illumination, powering different types of Internet of Things (IoT) remote sensors and other applications. [1][2][3][4][5][6] The efficiency of organic solar cells has been steadily growing and now exceeds 18% for the best certi-ed small-area laboratory samples. 7,8 There is also substantial progress in the development of high throughput roll-to-roll printing and coating technologies for production of exible and lightweight organic photovoltaic panels at a low-cost.…”

Advances in organic photovoltaic cells: a comprehensive review of materials, technologies, and performance

“…Charge collection is a critical process and its efficiency directly affects the overall performance of the device. 115 In OPV cells, the separated charges, which are generated by the process of charge separation, are transported to their respective electrodes through the organic semiconducting material in the active layer. The electrodes, typically made of conductive materials such as indium tin oxide (ITO), aluminum, or silver, are in contact with the active layer and collect the generated charges.…”

Recent Progress in Advanced Organic Photovoltaics: Emerging Techniques and Materials

“…[1] This meteoric rise in PCE has been facilitated by developing novel materials, optimizing device design as well as blend morphology, together with enhanced exploration and understanding of device physics. [2][3][4] It is no wonder that along with this high efficiency and stability, OPVs have established themselves as the potential candidate for a sustainable source of electricity. However, the present PCE of OPVs still lags behind the reported efficiency for inorganic crystalline silicon solar cells and muchdiscussed perovskite solar cells (PSCs).…”

“…An extensive study by different research groups has led to the power conversion efficiency (PCE) surpassing 18 % for single‐junction and 14.2 % for tandem devices, and this efficiency value is continually increasing every day [1] . This meteoric rise in PCE has been facilitated by developing novel materials, optimizing device design as well as blend morphology, together with enhanced exploration and understanding of device physics [2–4] . It is no wonder that along with this high efficiency and stability, OPVs have established themselves as the potential candidate for a sustainable source of electricity.…”