Open circuit voltage of organic solar cells: an in-depth review

Naveen Elumalai; Ashraf Uddin

doi:10.1039/c5ee02871j

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Open circuit voltage of organic solar cells: an in-depth review

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Open circuit voltage of organic solar cells: an in-depth review

Naveen Elumalai and Ashraf Uddin

Energy & Environmental Science, Vol.9(2), pp.391-410

2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c5ee02871j

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Abstract

Organic solar cells (OSCs)

open-circuit voltage (V-OC)

efficiency

viable commercialization

Organic solar cells (OSCs) have developed progressively in efficiency over the last two decades. Though it is promising, this technology is still far from realizing its full prospect. One of the most important parameters that determine the efficiency of OSCs is the open-circuit voltage (V-OC), which represents the maximum voltage a solar cell can provide to an external circuit. Light harvesting materials employed in OSCs have an optical band gap of around 1.7 to 2.1 eV and yet the V-OC barely exceeds 1.0 V, which is approximately just half of the photon's original energy. By contrast, in inorganic counterparts such as Si, CIGS and GaAs, the difference is only 0.3 to 0.45 eV between the material bandgap and V-OC. Hence, to achieve higher power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) in OSCs, a detailed understanding of the origins of V-OC and the associated energetic loss mechanisms is indispensable. The presented review takes the opportunity to elaborate various governing mechanisms and factors affecting the V-OC from a comprehensive yet insightful standpoint. This report also provides a concise synthesis of intricate interdependencies among the factors influencing V-OC and highlights the potential research strategies to improve V-OC, rendering possible pathways to facilitate the viable commercialization of OSCs.

Details

Title: Open circuit voltage of organic solar cells: an in-depth review
Authors: Naveen Elumalai (Corresponding Author) - UNSW Sydney
Ashraf Uddin (Author) - UNSW Sydney
Publication details: Energy & Environmental Science, Vol.9(2), pp.391-410
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
Date published: 2016
DOI: 10.1039/c5ee02871j
ISSN: 1754-5706
Organisation Unit: School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991224728602621
Output Type: Journal article

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Web Of Science research areas: Chemistry, Multidisciplinary; Energy & Fuels; Engineering, Chemical; Environmental Sciences