Semi‐Transparent Polymer Solar Cells with Excellent Sub‐Bandgap Transmission for Third Generation Photovoltaics

Beiley, Zach M.; Christoforo, M. Greyson; Gratia, Paul; Bowring, Andrea R.; Eberspacher, Petra; Margulis, George Y.; Cabanetos, Clément; Beaujuge, Pierre M.; Salleo, Alberto; McGehee, Michael D.

doi:10.1002/adma.201301985

Cited by 90 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Recent progress has shown that visibly transparent polymer solar cells produced by solution processing could be integrated into glass substrates as well (Figure 15 B). [ 441,444 ] A stacked transparent battery and solar cell device (for example, considering device shown in Figure 15 A stacked on top the one shown in Figure 15 B) will absorb some 50% of light and could operate as a stand-alone energy source, powering and storing the energy for the building. If REVIEW wileyonlinelibrary.com 6% effi cient window PVs were used to entirely cover the same Willis Tower, it would generate nearly 5.3 GWh of energy per year.…”

Section: Optically Active Schemes/confi Gurationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design Considerations for Unconventional Electrochemical Energy Storage Architectures

Vlad

Singh

Galande

et al. 2015

Advanced Energy Materials

290

204

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all need to be used in conjugation with an energy storage system to provide smooth power leveling. Currently, electrochemical energy storage systems are by far the most optimal solutions for powering a broad range of technologies, expanding from compact and light-weighted portable electronic devices to stationary gridscale energy storage applications. [3][4][5][6] These energy storage devices (batteries and supercapacitors) store the available electrical energy in the form of chemical energy and release it whenever needed, by simply reversing the electrochemical reaction. [7][8][9][10][11] Among various available battery chemistries, lithium batteries and supercapacitors are the most promising technologies. [ 7,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] Ever since the realization of the fi rst electrochemical energy storage cell by Alessandro Volta (end of 17th century), the working principle and its function has changed very little. [ 21,22 ] Basically, two redox couples (or charge storage electrodes), electrically and physically separated, are bridged by an ion conducting medium to constitute an electrochemical cell. This holds true also for modern Li-ion batteries, although the chemistry involved is much more complex. During operation, the electrons are transferred through an external circuit while ions shuttle through the electrolyte to counterbalance the depleted charge at the electrodes. [ 23 ] So far, much of the effort has been directed towards improvement of the energy and power characteristics by downsizing the active components, re-engineering the current collectors and separators, as well as fi ne-tuning the Batteries have become fundamental building blocks for the mobility of modern society. Continuous development of novel battery chemistries and electrode materials has nourished progress in building better batteries. Simultaneously, novel device form factors and designs with multi-functional components have been proposed, requiring batteries to not only integrate seamlessly to these devices, but to also be a multi-functional component for a multitude of applications. Thus, in the past decade, along with developments in the component materials, the focus has been shifting more and more towards novel fabrication processes, unconventional confi gurations, and additional functionalities. This work attempts to critically review the developments with respect to emerging electrochemical energy storage confi gurations, including, amongst others, paintable, transparent, fl exible, wire or cable shaped, ultra-thin and ultra-thick confi gurations, as well as hybrid energy storage-conversion, or graphene-incorporated batteries and supercapacitors. The performance requirements are elaborated together with the advantages, but also the limitations, with respect to established electrochemical energy storage technologies. Finally, challenges in developing novel materials with tailored properties that would allow such confi gurations, and in designing easier manufacturing techniques that can be widely adopted ar...

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Section: Optically Active Schemes/confi Gurationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design Considerations for Unconventional Electrochemical Energy Storage Architectures

Vlad

Singh

Galande

et al. 2015

Advanced Energy Materials

290

204

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…There are several organic-based approaches that produce semi-transparent OPV devices that exhibit good electrical performance (Figure 8), whereby they are composed of organic electronic materials, and transparent electrodes based on a wide range of different materials, including conducting polymers [122][123][124][125], thin metal films [126], sputtered transparent conducting oxides of LiCoO2/Al [127], carbon nanotubes [122], graphene [128], and silver nanowires (Ag NWs) [129][130][131][132][133]. Recently, a study by Beiley et al [134], has shown the development of a semi-transparent OPV which consists of a silver nanowire (Ag NW) and zinc oxide nanoparticle (ZnO NP) composite top electrode, and has a power conversion efficiency of 5.0%. Additional studies have indicated that Ag NWs can be used as an efficient top electrode for semi-transparent OPV systems where P3HT:PCBM is used [129].…”

Section: Organic Photovoltaics (Opvs)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This Ag NW ZnO NP composite top electrode produced by Beiley et al [134] shows great compatibility for solar glazing production, whereby it has low sheet resistance (14 Ω·sq −1 ) required for large scale module manufacturing, and it is also processed in solution, making it particularly suitable for low-cost, high throughput fabrication techniques that are favoured in the glazing industry.…”

Section: Organic Photovoltaics (Opvs)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Thin Films for Advanced Glazing Applications

et al. 2016

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Functional thin films provide many opportunities for advanced glazing systems. This can be achieved by adding additional functionalities such as self-cleaning or power generation, or alternately by providing energy demand reduction through the management or modulation of solar heat gain or blackbody radiation using spectrally selective films or chromogenic materials. Self-cleaning materials have been generating increasing interest for the past two decades. They may be based on hydrophobic or hydrophilic systems and are often inspired by nature, for example hydrophobic systems based on mimicking the lotus leaf. These materials help to maintain the aesthetic properties of the building, help to maintain a comfortable working environment and in the case of photocatalytic materials, may provide external pollutant remediation. Power generation through window coatings is a relatively new idea and is based around the use of semi-transparent solar cells as windows. In this fashion, energy can be generated whilst also absorbing some solar heat. There is also the possibility, in the case of dye sensitized solar cells, to tune the coloration of the window that provides unheralded external aesthetic possibilities. Materials and coatings for energy demand reduction is highly desirable in an increasingly energy intensive world. We discuss new developments with low emissivity coatings as the need to replace scarce indium becomes more apparent. We go on to discuss thermochromic systems based on vanadium dioxide films. Such systems are dynamic in nature and present a more sophisticated and potentially more beneficial approach to reducing energy demand than static systems such as low emissivity and solar control coatings. The ability to be able to tune some of the material parameters in order to optimize the film performance for a given climate provides exciting opportunities for future technologies. In this article, we review recent progress and challenges in these areas and provide a perspective for future trends and developments.

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“…Several different options have been considered, such as low-temperature annealed indium tin oxide (ITO), [42][43][44][45][46][47][48] a three-layer architecture combining a dielectric layer, an ultra thin metal layer, and a second dielectric layer, [49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64] PEDOT, [65][66][67] silver grid, 68 graphene, [69][70][71] carbon nanotubes, 67,72 and silver nanowires (AgNW). [73][74][75][76][77][78] However, the need for a nondestructive deposition technique for the top semi-transparent electrode is probably not the major issue that semi-transparent OPV cells must overcome before becoming an industrially viable solution. Indeed, when the top electrode of an OPV cell is made semi-transparent, the capacity of the solar device to trap the electromagnetic field in the absorber layer diminishes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Semi-transparent polymer solar cells

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Over the last three decades, progress in the organic photovoltaic field has resulted in some device features which make organic cells applicable in electricity generation configurations where the standard silicon-based technology is not suitable, for instance, when a semitransparent photovoltaic panel is needed. When the thin film solar cell performance is evaluated in terms of the device's visible transparency and power conversion efficiency, organic solar cells offer the most promising solution. During the last three years, research in the field has consolidated several approaches for the fabrication of high performance semi-transparent organic solar cells. We have grouped these approaches under three categories: devices where the absorber layer includes near-infrared absorption polymers, devices incorporating one-dimensional photonic crystals, and devices with a metal cavity light trapping configuration. We herein review these approaches.

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Semi‐Transparent Polymer Solar Cells with Excellent Sub‐Bandgap Transmission for Third Generation Photovoltaics

Cited by 90 publications

References 51 publications

Design Considerations for Unconventional Electrochemical Energy Storage Architectures

Design Considerations for Unconventional Electrochemical Energy Storage Architectures

Thin Films for Advanced Glazing Applications

Semi-transparent polymer solar cells

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