Plasmon-loss imaging of polymer-methanofullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells

Modeling and simulation of bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells

This review summarizes the optical and electrical models of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) polymer solar cells (PSCs) and numerically simulates and analyzes the performance of the PSCs. A complete simulation of a conventional BHJ device based on the polymer P3HT is presented and results are compared with the experimental data. Key factors affecting the device performance, including the photo absorpt...

Morphology of polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells

Within the different organic photovoltaic devices the conjugated polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunction approach is one of the foci of today’s research interest. These devices are highly dependent on the solid state nanoscale morphology of the two components (donor/acceptor) in the photoactive layer. The need for finely phase separated polymer–fullerene blends is expressed by the limited exciton...

Monitoring the 3D nanostructures of bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells using confocal lifetime imaging.

In this study, the exciton lifetime images within the photoactive layers of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) are revealed by confocal optical microscopy combined with the fluorescence module. The images reveal that the active layers during slow solvent evaporation provide 3D pathways for charge transport and the concentration gradient through t...

Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells — Opportunities and Challenges

Effects of Optical Interference and Annealing on the Performance of Polymer/Fullerene Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells

Polymer solar cells are of tremendous interests due to their attractive properties such as flexibility, ease of fabrication, low materials and energy budget. However, organic materials have short exciton diffusion length and poor charge mobility, which can greatly decrease the performance of polymer solar cells. These challenges can be effectively overcome through the use of the bulk heterojunc...