Efficient polymer-based interpenetrated network photovoltaic cells

Abstract

Organic solar cells based on an interpenetrated network of conjugated polymer as donor and fullerene derivative as acceptor materials have a great potential for improving efficiency. We fabricated a device based on a composite of poly(2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethylhexyloxy)-1, 4-phenylenevinylene and [6,6]-phenyl C60 butyric acid methyl ester. Surface treatment, insertion of interfacial layers, and improvement of the morphology of the active layer significantly increase the photovoltaic performances of the structure. We obtain an open circuit voltage of 0.87 V and short circuit current density of 8.4 mA/cm2 under 100 mW/cm2 air-mass 1.5 solar simulator illumination, yielding a 2.9% power conversion efficiency.

Photoelectron Spectroscopy of the Contact between the Cathode and the Active Layers in Plastic Solar Cells: The Role of LiF

“…6) Bulk heterojunctions composed of MEH-PPV and PCBM is thus a popular choice. 17) However, MEH-PPV does not absorb far into the red, so there is much effort directed to develop polymers that absorb deeper into the red and thus covering a larger width of the solar spectrum. One such low band gap system, APFO-3, is an alternating conjugated polymer based on fluorene units and low band gap donor-acceptor-donor unit.…”

Solvent effect and device optimization of diketopyrrolopyrrole and carbazole copolymer based solar cells

“…With increasing PC 70 BM ratio, the open-circuit voltage remained the same for all devices, but the short-circuit current density increased from 6.7 mA/cm 2 to 7.9 mA/cm 2 when the ratio was increased from 1:2 to 1:3. It is known that higher acceptor ratio (PC 60 BM or PC 70 BM) favours the formation of a phase separated interpenetrated network with sizable domains [13], which in turn favours effective charge separation. However, the current decreased again to 6.5 mA/ cm 2 when the ratio was increased up to 1:4.…”

Charge-Transporting Polymers

“…1) as D in combination with small molecules such as fullerenes (C 60 and C 70 ) and their derivatives, e.g., [6,6]-phenyl-C 61 -butyric acid methyl ester (PC 61 BM) and [6,6]-phenyl-C 71 -butyric acid methyl ester(PC 71 BM), as A. These devices have been reported to give PCEs of~3 % for MEH-PPV [28] and~5 % for P3HT [29]. High PCEs for bulk heterojunction OSCs using fullerenes as electron acceptors have been attributed to the ultrafast photoinduced charge transfer from conjugated polymers to the neighboring fullerenes to generate hole-electron pairs [30].…”