Organic Solar Cells
TL;DR: Organic solar cells (OSC) as discussed by the authors use polymers instead of semiconductors, such as silicon or gallium arsenide, which are used in traditional or inorganic solar cells.
Abstract: Solar cells are devices that utilize the light energy of the sun and convert it into electrical energy, which is needed for powering any electronic device. While organic solar cells(OSC) have the same fundamental structure as traditional or inorganic solar cells(ISC), OSCs use polymers instead of semiconductors, such as silicon or gallium arsenide, which are used in ISCs. While the efficiencies of OSCs are still somewhat low in relation to other solar cells, their advantages, such as being light in weight, flexible, low in material and processing costs, failure resistant, and relatively environmentally friendly make them a worthy competitor of ISCs. Considering fossil fuels are limited and alternate forms of energy need to be considered, OSCs will play a major role in supplying power to people around the world.
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TL;DR: The current status of the field of organic solar cells and the important parameters to improve their performance are discussed in this paper. But, the two competitive production techniques used today are either wet solution processing or dry thermal evaporation of the organic constituents.
Abstract: Organic solar cell research has developed during the past 30 years, but especially in the last decade it has attracted scientific and economic interest triggered by a rapid increase in power conversion efficiencies. This was achieved by the introduction of new materials, improved materials engineering, and more sophisticated device structures. Today, solar power conversion efficiencies in excess of 3% have been accomplished with several device concepts. Though efficiencies of these thin-film organicdevices have not yet reached those of their inorganic counterparts (η ≈ 10–20%); the perspective of cheap production (employing, e.g., roll-to-roll processes) drives the development of organic photovoltaic devices further in a dynamic way. The two competitive production techniques used today are either wet solution processing or dry thermal evaporation of the organic constituents. The field of organic solar cells profited well from the development of light-emitting diodes based on similar technologies, which have entered the market recently. We review here the current status of the field of organic solar cells and discuss different production technologies as well as study the important parameters to improve their performance.
2,492 citations
Cites background from "Organic Solar Cells"
...Donor type materials show a doping effect when exposed to oxygen or other strong oxidizing agents such as iodine.(2,3,99) This doping is achieved by transferring an electron from the ground state S0 of the organic semiconductor to the oxidizing agent, resulting in increased charge carrier concentrations in the hole conductor....
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...The first generation of organic photovoltaic solar cells was based on single organic layers sandwiched between two metal electrodes of different work functions.(2,3) The rectifying behavior of single layer devices was attributed to the asymmetry in the electron and hole injection into the molecular * and -orbitals, respectively,(26) and to the formation of a Schottky-barrier between the p-type (hole conducting) organic layer and the metal with the lower work function....
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...Therefore, illumination from the two different semitransparent metal contacts can lead to symbatic (proportional to the absorption coefficient) and antibatic behavior of the spectral photocurrent.(3,28,98) Because the exciton diffusion length for most organic solar cell materials is below 20 nm, only those excitons generated in a small region within 20 nm from the contacts contribute to the photocurrent....
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TL;DR: In this paper, a planar Schottky photovoltaic device was constructed from solution-processed PbS nanocrystal quantum dot films with aluminum and indium tin oxide contacts.
Abstract: Planar Schottky photovoltaic devices were prepared from solution-processed PbS nanocrystal quantum dot films with aluminum and indium tin oxide contacts. These devices exhibited up to 4.2% infrared power conversion efficiency, which is a threefold improvement over previous results. Solar power conversion efficiency reached 1.8%. The simple, optimized architecture allows for direct implementation in multijunction photovoltaic device configurations.
267 citations
Cites background from "Organic Solar Cells"
...In the case of doped polymers, this can result in the formation of a depletion region and a Schottky barrier at one of the interfaces [37-44]....
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TL;DR: The discussion of the confined dynamics includes solvation and intra- and intermolecular proton-, electron-, and energy transfer events of the guest within the SBMs.
Abstract: Silica-based materials (SBMs) are widely used in catalysis, photonics, and drug delivery. Their pores and cavities act as hosts of diverse guests ranging from classical dyes to drugs and quantum dots, allowing changes in the photochemical behavior of the confined guests. The heterogeneity of the guest populations as well as the confinement provided by these hosts affect the behavior of the formed hybrid materials. As a consequence, the observed reaction dynamics becomes significantly different and complex. Studying their photobehavior requires advanced laser-based spectroscopy and microscopy techniques as well as computational methods. Thanks to the development of ultrafast (spectroscopy and imaging) tools, we are witnessing an increasing interest of the scientific community to explore the intimate photobehavior of these composites. Here, we review the recent theoretical and ultrafast experimental studies of their photodynamics and discuss the results in comparison to those in homogeneous media. The discu...
95 citations
TL;DR: The results suggest the great potential of s-Liq as cathode interlayer material for high-performance solar cells application, leading to a power conversion efficiency (PCE) improvement.
Abstract: Solution-processed 8-hydroxyquinolinatolithium (s-Liq) was successfully applied as an efficient cathode interlayer in bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells (PSCs), giving rise to enhancement in device performance. The ultraviolet photoelectron spectra results revealed that the presence of s-Liq could lower work function of Al cathode, allowing for the ohmic contacts with the fullerene acceptor for better electron extraction and also a larger work function difference between the two electrodes, which leads to an increase in open-circuit voltage (Voc). Scanning Kelvin probe microscopy study on the surface potential of active layers suggested that an interfacial dipole was formed in the s-Liq interlayer between the active layer and the Al cathode, which enhanced the intrinsic built-in potential in the device for better charge transportation and extraction. Consequently, the Voc, fill factor, and current density of the device can be improved by the introduction of s-Liq interlayer, leading to a power conver...
36 citations
01 Jun 2018
TL;DR: In this article, the origin and development of silver halides, synthesis methods, construction of composite structures with other materials, photocatalytic applications, and various and controversial mechanisms are exhaustively described.
Abstract: The silver halides and their corresponding composites would constitute remarkable photocatalytic systems not only in energy production but also in environmental remediation. The major advantage in these silver halides system is that plasma metal Ag0 species would be spontaneously generated by silver halides under light irradiation, which play dual roles of expanding light absorption range and charge carriers separation. In this tutorial review, the origin and development of silver halides, synthesis methods, construction of composite structures with other materials, photocatalytic applications, and various and controversial mechanisms are all exhaustively described.
34 citations
Cites background from "Organic Solar Cells"
...for satisfying mankind’s yearly energy consumption with 5% UV, 43% visible, and 52% IR [9, 10]....
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