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Efficient organic solar cells processed from hydrocarbon solvents

Author

Listed:
  • Jingbo Zhao

    (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)

  • Yunke Li

    (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)

  • Guofang Yang

    (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
    State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University)

  • Kui Jiang

    (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
    HKUST-Shenzhen Research Institute, No. 9 Yuexing 1st Road, Hi-tech Park)

  • Haoran Lin

    (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)

  • Harald Ade

    (North Carolina State University)

  • Wei Ma

    (State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University)

  • He Yan

    (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
    HKUST-Shenzhen Research Institute, No. 9 Yuexing 1st Road, Hi-tech Park)

Abstract

Organic solar cells have desirable properties, including low cost of materials, high-throughput roll-to-roll production, mechanical flexibility and light weight. However, all top-performance devices are at present processed using halogenated solvents, which are environmentally hazardous and would thus require expensive mitigation to contain the hazards. Attempts to process organic solar cells from non-halogenated solvents lead to inferior performance. Overcoming this hurdle, here we present a hydrocarbon-based processing system that is not only more environmentally friendly but also yields cells with power conversion efficiencies of up to 11.7%. Our processing system incorporates the synergistic effects of a hydrocarbon solvent, a novel additive, a suitable choice of polymer side chain, and strong temperature-dependent aggregation of the donor polymer. Our results not only demonstrate a method of producing active layers of organic solar cells in an environmentally friendly way, but also provide important scientific insights that will facilitate further improvement of the morphology and performance of organic solar cells.

Suggested Citation

  • Jingbo Zhao & Yunke Li & Guofang Yang & Kui Jiang & Haoran Lin & Harald Ade & Wei Ma & He Yan, 2016. "Efficient organic solar cells processed from hydrocarbon solvents," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 1(2), pages 1-7, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natene:v:1:y:2016:i:2:d:10.1038_nenergy.2015.27
    DOI: 10.1038/nenergy.2015.27
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    Cited by:

    1. Jun Young Kim, 2019. "Determining the Effect of Different Heat Treatments on the Electrical and Morphological Characteristics of Polymer Solar Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Kamel, Michael S.A. & Al-jumaili, Ahmed & Oelgemöller, Michael & Jacob, Mohan V., 2022. "Inorganic nanoparticles to overcome efficiency inhibitors of organic photovoltaics: An in-depth review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    3. Guo, Lukai & Wang, Hao, 2022. "Non-intrusive movable energy harvesting devices: Materials, designs, and their prospective uses on transportation infrastructures," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    4. Daniel Corzo & Diego Rosas-Villalva & Amruth C & Guillermo Tostado-Blázquez & Emily Bezerra Alexandre & Luis Huerta Hernandez & Jianhua Han & Han Xu & Maxime Babics & Stefaan Wolf & Derya Baran, 2023. "High-performing organic electronics using terpene green solvents from renewable feedstocks," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 62-73, January.
    5. Alexander V. Mumyatov & Pavel A. Troshin, 2023. "A Review on Fullerene Derivatives with Reduced Electron Affinity as Acceptor Materials for Organic Solar Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-60, February.
    6. Dawid Wojcieszak & Maciej Zaborowicz & Jacek Przybył & Piotr Boniecki & Aleksander Jędruś, 2021. "Assessment of the Content of Dry Matter and Dry Organic Matter in Compost with Neural Modelling Methods," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-12, April.
    7. Kumavat, Priyanka P. & Sonar, Prashant & Dalal, Dipak S., 2017. "An overview on basics of organic and dye sensitized solar cells, their mechanism and recent improvements," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1262-1287.
    8. Giovanni Landi & Sergio Pagano & Heinz Christoph Neitzert & Costantino Mauro & Carlo Barone, 2023. "Noise Spectroscopy: A Tool to Understand the Physics of Solar Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-37, January.
    9. Giovanni Landi & Carlo Barone & Costantino Mauro & Antonietta De Sio & Giovanni Carapella & Heinz Christoph Neitzert & Sergio Pagano, 2017. "Probing Temperature-Dependent Recombination Kinetics in Polymer:Fullerene Solar Cells by Electric Noise Spectroscopy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-14, September.
    10. Hadipour, Hassan & Amiri, Maghsoud & Sharifi, Mani, 2019. "Redundancy allocation in series-parallel systems under warm standby and active components in repairable subsystems," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).

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