Plastic solar cells: Breaking the 10% commercialization barrier

Letian Dou, Jingbi You, Chun Chao Chen, Gang Li, Yang Yang

Research output: Chapter in book / Conference proceedingConference article published in proceeding or bookAcademic researchpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Tandem solar cells provide an effective way to harvest a broader spectrum of solar radiation by combining two or more solar cells with different absorption ranges. However, for polymer solar cells (PSCs), the performance of tandem devices lags behind single-layer cells mainly due to the lack of a high-performance low-bandgap polymer with appropriate spectral response range. Here, we demonstrate a novel low bandgap conjugated polymer (~1.44 eV) specifically suitable for tandem structure. In the single-layer device, power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.5% was achieved. When the polymer was applied to tandem solar cells, we demonstrated a NREL certified PCE of 8.62%[1]. Further optimization on materials and devices of this system has lead to record breaking efficiency of 10.6%. Furthermore, the tandem devices show excellent stability due both to the intrinsic stability of the polymer and the advanced device structure.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationOptical Processes in Organic Materials and Nanostructures
Volume8474
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2012
Externally publishedYes
EventOptical Processes in Organic Materials and Nanostructures - San Diego, CA, United States
Duration: 12 Aug 201215 Aug 2012

Conference

ConferenceOptical Processes in Organic Materials and Nanostructures
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Diego, CA
Period12/08/1215/08/12

Keywords

  • Low bandgap polymer
  • Polymer solar cell
  • Tandem polymer solar cell

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Applied Mathematics
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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