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Organic and Hybrid Photovoltaics

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2022) | Viewed by 12689

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Guest Editor
The Institute of Analytical Sciences and Physico-Chemistry for Environment and Materials (IPREM), Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour (UPPA), IPREM, 64000 Pau, France
Interests: energy materials; CO2 reduction; carbon capture
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Organic and hybrid photovoltaics (PVs) have been a thrilling area of academic research for the past 30 years. Indeed, the early discovery of the conductive properties of conjugated polymers and the demonstration of the photovoltaic properties of the first dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have constituted a paradigm shift from the belief that photovoltaics could solely be fabricated from highly ordered materials. The evolution of DSSCs has been closely followed by the emergence of organic solar cells. Both technologies have been shown to integrate a wealth of different material types, e.g., organic and inorganic materials, polymers, metal and metal oxide nanoparticles and quantum dots, to name just a few, each one providing a new milestone in their respective field. Due to this extensive quest for new materials, it does not come as a surprise that the most promising PV technology to date, namely, the perovskite solar cell (PSC), emerged serendipitously from the application of perovskite materials to solid-state DSSCs.

In this Special Issue we, therefore, aim at giving a comprehensive view on the recent developments of DSSCs, OPVs, PSCs from a material perspective. Subject areas would include, in a broad sense, PV material synthesis/fabrication (inorganic and organic/polymer), device fabrication and the study of their electrical and photophysical properties. The publication can be in the form of communications, research articles or review articles according to the applied sciences publication templates. Authors who are experts in these fields are invited to submit their contributions for this Special Issue by the end of December 2021.

Dr. Aurélien Viterisi
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • photovoltaics
  • organic solar cells
  • dye-sensitized solar cells
  • perovskite solar cells
  • quantum dot solar cells
  • conjugated polymers
  • small molecule donors/acceptors
  • organic/organometalic dyes
  • hole transport materials
  • electron transport materials
  • interfacial recombination processes

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 3066 KiB  
Article
Thermally and Air Stable Perovskite Solar Cells with a Hole Transporting PTAA/NiO Bilayer
by You-Sun Lee, Sung-Nam Kwon, Seok-In Na, Dohyung Kim and Sang-Woo Kim
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(24), 12888; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122412888 - 15 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2239
Abstract
Organic/inorganic halide perovskite materials have attracted substantial attention in solar cells, and they have achieved significant improvements in recent years. In perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the engineering of interfacial properties between multilayers is an important determinant of performance and stability. Here, we designed [...] Read more.
Organic/inorganic halide perovskite materials have attracted substantial attention in solar cells, and they have achieved significant improvements in recent years. In perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the engineering of interfacial properties between multilayers is an important determinant of performance and stability. Here, we designed a bilayer structure of hole transporting layer by inserting poly[bis(4-phenyl)(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)amine] (PTAA), which can improve the interfacial properties between the perovskite and the nickel oxide (NiO) hole transport layer in p-i-n planar PSCs. We observed that the hole transporting PTAA/NiO bilayer leads to higher performance by optimizing the energy level and accelerating the extraction of charges from the interface. The power conversion efficiency of the PSC was improved from 17.29% to 19.05% when the PTAA/NiO bilayer was introduced instead of the NiO monolayer. Ultimately, we confirmed that this interface engineering provides thermal and air stability of PSCs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic and Hybrid Photovoltaics)
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16 pages, 2714 KiB  
Article
Exploring Structure-Property Relationships in a Family of Ferrocene-Containing, Triphenylamine-Based Hybrid Organic Dyes
by Tavneet K. Singh, Reese A. Grandy, Emma S. Dennis, Anja S. B. Schouten and Bryan D. Koivisto
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(12), 6001; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12126001 - 13 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1534
Abstract
In this work, a new family of triphenylamine-based dyes equipped with ferrocene (Fc)-containing donors have been synthesized, characterized, and studied within dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). With the objective of designing a redox-robust iron-containing dye that effectively sensitizes titania, a family of five structurally [...] Read more.
In this work, a new family of triphenylamine-based dyes equipped with ferrocene (Fc)-containing donors have been synthesized, characterized, and studied within dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). With the objective of designing a redox-robust iron-containing dye that effectively sensitizes titania, a family of five structurally related dyes containing ferrocene were prepared. The physicochemical properties of all dyestuffs were studied using UV-Vis and electrochemical measurements. Different cross-coupling strategies resulted in the ability to modestly tune the Fc/Fc+ redox potentials of the dye. Despite the Fc-containing dyes having optoelectronic properties consistent with the non-ferrocene parent dye, the performance of the dyes in devices was dismal and decreased with the number of appended ferrocenes. While this finding was consistent with previous attempts to explore Fc-TPA DSSC dyes, our spectroelectrochemical data supports the hypothesis that the ferrocene component of the dye is oxidized by the electrolyte, ultimately decreasing the dye’s ability to be a suitable sensitizer. While these dyes are not suitable for DSSC applications, they might find applications in other photo-induced integrated devices where charge recombination is minimal. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic and Hybrid Photovoltaics)
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12 pages, 2471 KiB  
Article
Influence of the Electron Selective Contact on the Interfacial Recombination in Fresh and Aged Perovskite Solar Cells
by Jesús Jiménez-López, Maria Méndez and Emilio Palomares
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(9), 4545; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12094545 - 29 Apr 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1883
Abstract
In this work, we have used TiO2 and SnO2 layers as electron selective contact (ESC) in n-i-p perovskite solar cells configuration. To study and compare the ion migration kinetics of these ESC, CsFAMAPbIBr and MAPbI3-based devices were fabricated and [...] Read more.
In this work, we have used TiO2 and SnO2 layers as electron selective contact (ESC) in n-i-p perovskite solar cells configuration. To study and compare the ion migration kinetics of these ESC, CsFAMAPbIBr and MAPbI3-based devices were fabricated and characterised in fresh (1 day) and aged (28 days) conditions. Depending on the ESC and perovskite composition, devices reveal a different progression over time in terms of hysteresis and performance. Using transient photovoltage (TPV) and transient photocurrent (TPC) techniques, we studied the kinetics of carrier extraction and recombination, which showed that aged devices present slower recombination kinetics compared to their fresh counterparts, revealing a positive effect of the aging process. Finally, transient of the transient, derived from the TPV technique, discloses that TiO2 accumulates more charges in the ESC/perovskite interface compared to SnO2 and that the ion migration kinetics are directly related to the perovskite composition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic and Hybrid Photovoltaics)
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15 pages, 2548 KiB  
Article
Diketo-Pyrrolo Pyrrole-Based Acceptor-Acceptor Copolymers with Deep HOMO and LUMO Levels Absorbing in the Near Infrared
by Wissem Khelifi, Hussein Awada, Sylvie Blanc, Gilles Henri Roche, Lionel Hirsch, Bassey Oboho, Frédéric Castet, Antoine Bousquet and Christine Lartigau-Dagron
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(9), 4494; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12094494 - 28 Apr 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1977
Abstract
A series of acceptor-acceptor (A-A’) alternated copolymers based on dithienodiketopyrrolo pyrrole were synthesized by copolymerizing it with itself and other different electron-poor monomers. The experimental and computed optoelectronic properties of four DPP-based copolymers, P(DPP-DPP) (with linear and branched chains), copolymer with diazapentalene P(DPP-DAP) [...] Read more.
A series of acceptor-acceptor (A-A’) alternated copolymers based on dithienodiketopyrrolo pyrrole were synthesized by copolymerizing it with itself and other different electron-poor monomers. The experimental and computed optoelectronic properties of four DPP-based copolymers, P(DPP-DPP) (with linear and branched chains), copolymer with diazapentalene P(DPP-DAP) and also with dioxothienopyrrolebenzodifurandione P(DPP-BTPBF), as well as thermal characterizations were described. UV-visible spectrophotometry and cyclic voltammetry were used to estimate the optical and electrochemical bandgaps, and were found as very small: 1.3, 1.0, and 0.9 eV for P(DPP-DPP), P(DPP-DAP), and P(DPP-BTPBF), respectively. The BTPBF unit allowed a strong reduction of the bandgap, leading to a broad absorption in the visible and near infra-red regions from 650 to 1450 nm. These results were compared to analogous donor-acceptor (D-A) copolymers previously reported, in which DPP is replaced by DTS, P(DTS-DPP), P(DTS-DAP), and P(DTS-BTPBF). The same trend was observed. By comparing A-A’ to D-A’ copolymers analogues, it was shown that the bandgap remained the same while both HOMO and LUMO levels were lowered by roughly 0.2 eV. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic and Hybrid Photovoltaics)
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10 pages, 1490 KiB  
Communication
Joule-Heating Annealing to Increase Organic Solar Cells Performance: A Comparative Study
by Maria Méndez, Daniel Fernández, Aurelien Viterisi, Eugenia Martínez-Ferrero and Emilio Palomares
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(5), 2552; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12052552 - 28 Feb 2022
Viewed by 1549
Abstract
In this work, we present our results on the influence of post-deposition treatments on the morphology and optical properties of photoactive films made of small molecules and their subsequent effect on the performance of photovoltaic (PV) devices. We have chosen DPP(TBFu)2:PC [...] Read more.
In this work, we present our results on the influence of post-deposition treatments on the morphology and optical properties of photoactive films made of small molecules and their subsequent effect on the performance of photovoltaic (PV) devices. We have chosen DPP(TBFu)2:PC61BM as a benchmark model system and compared a novel joule-heating annealing (JHA) treatment with the widely used temperature annealing (TA) and solvent annealing (SVA) treatments. Detailed characterization of the morphology of the active layer and the performance of the devices suggests that JHA is a valuable post-treatment technique that provides fast information about the development of domains in the photoactive layer. Finally, in this context, solar cells on flexible indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates, made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), were fabricated and analyzed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic and Hybrid Photovoltaics)
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Review

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17 pages, 4893 KiB  
Review
Crystallinity and Molecular Packing of Small Molecules in Bulk-Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells
by Emilio Palomares, Laurent Billon and Aurelien Viterisi
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(11), 5683; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12115683 - 3 Jun 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2772
Abstract
Crystallinity has played a major role in organic solar cells (OSCs). In small molecule (SM) bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) OSCs, the crystallinity and crystalline packing of SM donors have been shown to have a dramatic impact on the formation of an optimum microstructure leading to [...] Read more.
Crystallinity has played a major role in organic solar cells (OSCs). In small molecule (SM) bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) OSCs, the crystallinity and crystalline packing of SM donors have been shown to have a dramatic impact on the formation of an optimum microstructure leading to high-power conversion efficiency (PCE). Herein we describe how crystallinity differs from polymers to SMs, and how the packing habits of SMs (particularly donors) in active layers of BHJ devices can be described as following two different main modes: a single crystal-like and a liquid crystal-like packing type. This notion is reviewed from a chronological perspective, emphasising milestone donor structures and studies focusing on the crystallinity in SM-BHJ OSCs. This review intends to demonstrate that a shift towards a liquid crystalline-like packing can be identified throughout the history of SM-BHJ, and that this shift can be associated with an increase in overall PCE. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic and Hybrid Photovoltaics)
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