An organic solar cell (OSC ) or plastic solar cell is a type of photovoltaic that uses, a branch of electronics that deals with conductive organic polymers or small organic molecules, for light absorption and charge transport to produce from by the. Most organic photovoltaic cells are polymer solar cells.
The development of polymer solar cells is rapidly accelerating as the need of new clean energy sources. Polymer solar cells are attractive because they can be manufactured on plastic substrates by a variety of printing techniques. In this article, we provided an overview on basic operational principles and recent development of polymer solar cells.
Polymer solar cell (PSC), also called organic photovoltaic solar cell (OPV), is an emerging solar cell, benefitting from recent advances in nano-structured and functional energy materials and thin films, making it a cutting edge applied science and engineering research field.
Are solar cells a polymer or organic material?
Solar cells utilizing organic material as the dynamic layer changing over a photon stream into an electron stream have been known and revealed for a long while [143–145] while the term polymer, solar cells is generally later with a history that basically length the primary decade of the new centuries .
Are polymer solar cells a promising energy technology for the future?
As a promising energy technology for the future, polymer solar cells have improved remarkably in recent years and power conversion efficiencies of up to 6.5% were reported for small area devices (1–10 mm 2) (Kim et al., 2007). Unfortunately, these values have not yet been sustained for the long lifetimes needed for commercial maturity.
How are polymer solar cells different from small molecule solar cells?
These two classes of materials are rather different in terms of their synthesis, purification and device fabrication processes. Polymer solar cells (PSCs) are processed from solution in organic solvents, whereas small-molecule solar cells are processed mainly using thermal evaporation deposition in a high-vacuum environment.
Are polymer-based solar cells a good choice?
Polymer-based solar cells are appealing as they can be drawn into thin films and have minimum material usage, higher coefficient of absorption, plentiful organic materials, optimal treatment procedures, and low manufacturing energy needs. They have lower external quantum efficiency, which is mostly due to low electron-hole mobilities.