07-10-2017, 11:44 AM
An organic solar cell or a plastic solar cell is a type of photovoltaic that uses organic electronics, an electronics branch that deals with organic conducting polymers or small organic molecules, for the absorption of light and the transport of charge for produce electricity from the sunlight by the photovoltaic effect. Most organic photovoltaic cells are polymer solar cells.
The molecules used in organic solar cells are processable in solution at high performance and are cheap, resulting in low production costs to manufacture a large volume Combined with the flexibility of organic molecules, organic solar cells are potentially cost effective for photovoltaic applications . Molecular engineering (eg, change in length and the functional group of polymers) can change the band gap, allowing electronic affinity. The optical absorption coefficient of the organic molecules is high, so a large amount of light can be absorbed with a small amount of materials, usually on the order of hundreds of nanometers. The main disadvantages associated with organic photovoltaic cells are low efficiency, low stability and low resistance compared to inorganic photovoltaic cells, such as silicon solar cells.
Compared to silicon-based devices, polymer solar cells are lightweight (which are important for small autonomous sensors), potentially disposable and inexpensive to fabricate (sometimes with printed electronics), flexible, customizable at the molecular level and potentially less impact adverse environmental impacts. Polymer solar cells also have the potential to show transparency, suggesting applications in windows, walls, flexible electronics, etc. An example device is shown in Figure 1. The disadvantages of polymeric solar cells are also severe: they provide approximately 1/3 of the efficiency of hard materials, and experience substantial photochemical degradation.
The inefficiency of polymer solar cells and stability problems, coupled with their promise of low costs and increased efficiency, made them a popular field in solar cell research. As of 2015, polymer solar cells were able to achieve more than 10% efficiency through a tandem structure.
The molecules used in organic solar cells are processable in solution at high performance and are cheap, resulting in low production costs to manufacture a large volume Combined with the flexibility of organic molecules, organic solar cells are potentially cost effective for photovoltaic applications . Molecular engineering (eg, change in length and the functional group of polymers) can change the band gap, allowing electronic affinity. The optical absorption coefficient of the organic molecules is high, so a large amount of light can be absorbed with a small amount of materials, usually on the order of hundreds of nanometers. The main disadvantages associated with organic photovoltaic cells are low efficiency, low stability and low resistance compared to inorganic photovoltaic cells, such as silicon solar cells.
Compared to silicon-based devices, polymer solar cells are lightweight (which are important for small autonomous sensors), potentially disposable and inexpensive to fabricate (sometimes with printed electronics), flexible, customizable at the molecular level and potentially less impact adverse environmental impacts. Polymer solar cells also have the potential to show transparency, suggesting applications in windows, walls, flexible electronics, etc. An example device is shown in Figure 1. The disadvantages of polymeric solar cells are also severe: they provide approximately 1/3 of the efficiency of hard materials, and experience substantial photochemical degradation.
The inefficiency of polymer solar cells and stability problems, coupled with their promise of low costs and increased efficiency, made them a popular field in solar cell research. As of 2015, polymer solar cells were able to achieve more than 10% efficiency through a tandem structure.