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High-Performance Bulk-Heterojunction Polymer Solar Cells

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Low-cost Nanomaterials

Part of the book series: Green Energy and Technology ((GREEN))

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Abstract

Most of the high-efficiency organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs) reported to date have been fabricated based on the concept of a bulk heterojunction, where a conjugated polymer (donor) and a soluble fullerene (acceptor) form an interpenetrating network featuring a large donor–acceptor interfacial area. In this chapter, we first introduce the fundamentals of OPVs and then review the recent progress related to OPVs based on conjugated polymers. We then discuss the annealing approaches that have been used to optimize the morphologies of the photoactive layers, including thermal annealing and solvent annealing, and describe the engineering of the interfaces at the contacts between the polymer blends and the metal electrodes. Next, we outline the two most common optical methods for improving the light absorption efficiency of OPVs: the use of optical spacers and the triggering of surface plasmons. Finally, we summarize the development of low-band-gap polymers for the absorption of long-wavelength photons from solar irradiation and provide a brief outlook of the future use of OPVs.

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Acknowledgment

We thank the National Science Council of Taiwan and the Ministry of Education of Taiwan (through the ATU program) for financial support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Photonics and Display Institute, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan

    Fang-Chung Chen

  2. Department of Photonics and Institute of Electro-optical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan

    Chun-Hsien Chou & Ming-Kai Chuang

Authors
  1. Fang-Chung Chen
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  2. Chun-Hsien Chou
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  3. Ming-Kai Chuang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fang-Chung Chen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science & Engineerin, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA

    Zhiqun Lin

  2. Chemical and Materials Science Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USA

    Jun Wang

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag London

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Chen, FC., Chou, CH., Chuang, MK. (2014). High-Performance Bulk-Heterojunction Polymer Solar Cells. In: Lin, Z., Wang, J. (eds) Low-cost Nanomaterials. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6473-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6473-9_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-6472-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-6473-9

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