Device and morphological engineering of organic solar cells for enhanced charge transport and photovoltaic performance

Nirmal Adhikari; Devendra Khatiwada; Ashish Dubey; Qiquan Qiao

doi:10.1117/1.JPE.5.057207

16 January 2015 Device and morphological engineering of organic solar cells for enhanced charge transport and photovoltaic performance

Nirmal Adhikari, Devendra Khatiwada, Ashish Dubey, Qiquan Qiao

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Journal of Photonics for Energy, Vol. 5, Issue 1, 057207 (January 2015). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JPE.5.057207

Abstract

Conjugated polymers are potential materials for photovoltaic applications due to their high absorption coefficient, mechanical flexibility, and solution-based processing for low-cost solar cells. A bulk heterojunction (BHJ) structure made of donor–acceptor composite can lead to high charge transfer and power conversion efficiency. Active layer morphology is a key factor for device performance. Film formation processes (e.g., spray-coating, spin-coating, and dip-coating), post-treatment (e.g., annealing and UV ozone treatment), and use of additives are typically used to engineer the morphology, which optimizes physical properties, such as molecular configuration, miscibility, lateral and vertical phase separation. We will review electronic donor–acceptor interactions in conjugated polymer composites, the effect of processing parameters and morphology on solar cell performance, and charge carrier transport in polymer solar cells. This review provides the basis for selection of different processing conditions for optimized nanomorphology of active layers and reduced bimolecular recombination to enhance open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current density, and fill factor of BHJ solar cells.

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Nirmal Adhikari, Devendra Khatiwada, Ashish Dubey, and Qiquan Qiao "Device and morphological engineering of organic solar cells for enhanced charge transport and photovoltaic performance," Journal of Photonics for Energy 5(1), 057207 (16 January 2015). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JPE.5.057207

Published: 16 January 2015

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