Researchers pave the way for large-scale, efficient organic solar cells with water treatment
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 5:39 am
https://phys.org/news/2022-09-pave-larg ... cells.html
Organic solar cells (OSCs), which use organic polymers to convert sunlight into electricity, have received considerable attention for their desirable properties as next-generation energy sources. These properties include its lightweight nature, flexibility, scalability, and a high power conversion efficiency (>19%). Currently, several strategies exist for enhancing the performance and stability of OSCs. However, a problem that remains is the difficulty of controlling the morphology of the active layer in OSCs when scaling up to large areas. This makes it challenging to obtain high-quality active layer thin films and, in turn, fine-tune the device efficiency.
In a recent study, a team of researchers from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Korea set out to address this issue. In their work, published in Advanced Functional Materials, they suggested a solution that appears rather counterintuitive at first glance: using water treatment to control the active layer morphology.
Organic solar cells (OSCs), which use organic polymers to convert sunlight into electricity, have received considerable attention for their desirable properties as next-generation energy sources. These properties include its lightweight nature, flexibility, scalability, and a high power conversion efficiency (>19%). Currently, several strategies exist for enhancing the performance and stability of OSCs. However, a problem that remains is the difficulty of controlling the morphology of the active layer in OSCs when scaling up to large areas. This makes it challenging to obtain high-quality active layer thin films and, in turn, fine-tune the device efficiency.
In a recent study, a team of researchers from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Korea set out to address this issue. In their work, published in Advanced Functional Materials, they suggested a solution that appears rather counterintuitive at first glance: using water treatment to control the active layer morphology.