Stability and Degradation of Organic and Polymer Solar Cells

Stability and Degradation of Organic and Polymer Solar Cells PDF

Author: Frederik C. Krebs

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-04-23

Total Pages: 375

ISBN-13: 1119952514

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Organic photovoltaics (OPV) are a new generation of solar cells with the potential to offer very short energy pay back times, mechanical flexibility and significantly lower production costs compared to traditional crystalline photovoltaic systems. A weakness of OPV is their comparative instability during operation and this is a critical area of research towards the successful development and commercialization of these 3rd generation solar cells. Covering both small molecule and polymer solar cells, Stability and Degradation of Organic and Polymer Solar Cells summarizes the state of the art understanding of stability and provides a detailed analysis of the mechanisms by which degradation occurs. Following an introductory chapter which compares different photovoltaic technologies, the book focuses on OPV degradation, discussing the origin and characterization of the instability and describing measures for extending the duration of operation. Topics covered include: *Chemical and physical probes for studying degradation *Imaging techniques *Photochemical stability of OPV materials *Degradation mechanisms *Testing methods *Barrier technology and applications Stability and Degradation of Organic and Polymer Solar Cells is an essential reference source for researchers in academia and industry, engineers and manufacturers working on OPV design, development and implementation.

Stability and Degradation of Organic and Polymer Solar Cells

Stability and Degradation of Organic and Polymer Solar Cells PDF

Author: Frederik C. Krebs

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-04-02

Total Pages: 375

ISBN-13: 1118312236

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Organic photovoltaics (OPV) are a new generation of solar cells with the potential to offer very short energy pay back times, mechanical flexibility and significantly lower production costs compared to traditional crystalline photovoltaic systems. A weakness of OPV is their comparative instability during operation and this is a critical area of research towards the successful development and commercialization of these 3rd generation solar cells. Covering both small molecule and polymer solar cells, Stability and Degradation of Organic and Polymer Solar Cells summarizes the state of the art understanding of stability and provides a detailed analysis of the mechanisms by which degradation occurs. Following an introductory chapter which compares different photovoltaic technologies, the book focuses on OPV degradation, discussing the origin and characterization of the instability and describing measures for extending the duration of operation. Topics covered include: Chemical and physical probes for studying degradation Imaging techniques Photochemical stability of OPV materials Degradation mechanisms Testing methods Barrier technology and applications Stability and Degradation of Organic and Polymer Solar Cells is an essential reference source for researchers in academia and industry, engineers and manufacturers working on OPV design, development and implementation.

Organic Solar Cells

Organic Solar Cells PDF

Author: Pankaj Kumar

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2016-10-03

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 1498723306

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This book contains detailed information on the types, structure, fabrication, and characterization of organic solar cells (OSCs). It discusses processes to improve efficiencies and the prevention of degradation in OSCs. It compares the cost-effectiveness of OSCs to those based on crystalline silicon and discusses ways to make OSCs more economical. This book provides a practical guide for the fabrication, processing, and characterization of OSCs and paves the way for further development in OSC technology.

Organic Solar Cells

Organic Solar Cells PDF

Author: Wallace C.H. Choy

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-11-19

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 1447148231

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Organic solar cells have emerged as new promising photovoltaic devices due to their potential applications in large area, printable and flexible solar panels. Organic Solar Cells: Materials and Device Physics offers an updated review on the topics covering the synthesis, properties and applications of new materials for various critical roles in devices from electrodes, interface and carrier transport materials, to the active layer composed of donors and acceptors. Addressing the important device physics issues of carrier and exciton dynamics and interface stability and novel light trapping structures, the potential for hybrid organic solar cells to provide high efficiency solar cells is examined and discussed in detail. Specific chapters covers key areas including: Latest research and designs for highly effective polymer donors/acceptors and interface materials Synthesis and application of highly transparent and conductive graphene Exciton and charge dynamics for in-depth understanding of the mechanism underlying organic solar cells. New potentials and emerging functionalities of plasmonic effects in OSCs Interface Degradation Mechanisms in organic photovoltaics improving the entire device lifetime Device architecture and operation mechanism of organic/ inorganic hybrid solar cells for next generation of high performance photovoltaics This reference can be practically and theoretically applied by senior undergraduates, postgraduates, engineers, scientists, researchers, and project managers with some fundamental knowledge in organic and inorganic semiconductor materials or devices.

Understanding Degradation Mechanisms and Improving Long-term Performance of Organic Solar Cells

Understanding Degradation Mechanisms and Improving Long-term Performance of Organic Solar Cells PDF

Author: William Robert Mateker

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) attract interest because they can be printed rapidly and at low cost. Over the past decade, research directed towards increasing the initial power conversion efficiency has pushed the record device efficiency above 10%. However, in order to be a competitive technology, the performance must remain relatively stable over time. In this talk, I discuss mechanisms of degradation in materials and solar cells as well as suggest materials properties that will improve stability. First I discuss the bleaching of the absorber materials in air. I will show that dense, ordered film morphologies can stabilize materials -- in one case, by a factor of 2000. Next, I show that temperature induced degradation can occur in well-encapsulated solar cells when the materials have glass transition temperatures at or below operating conditions. Similarly, I discuss the effect of mobile molecules present in the films and show that purification aimed at reducing their content can improve thermal stability. In a solar cell made from a polymer with a high glass transition temperature, lifetimes can exceed 20 years. Finally, I discuss the light-induced degradation that occurs in the first several hundred hours of solar cell operation, even in the absence of oxygen. This degradation can reduce the short circuit current via a fullerene dimerization reaction, or it can reduce the open circuit voltage via the introduction of energetic disorder on the semiconducting polymer. I show that both degradation modes are reduced in films with a more ordered morphology. These findings provide guidelines for reducing thermal and photo-induced degradation and improving the long-term stability of OPVs.

Polymeric Solar Cells

Polymeric Solar Cells PDF

Author: Frederik C. Krebs

Publisher: DEStech Publications, Inc

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1605950173

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Book offers a comprehensive treatment of nonhybrid polymeric solar cells from the basic chemistry of donor and acceptor materials through device design, processing and manufacture. Written by a team of Europe-based experts, the text shows the steps and strategies of successfully moving from the science of solar cells to commercial device production. Chapters focus on technologies that lead to increased efficiencies, longer usable life and lower costs. Highlighted are ways to fabricate solar cells from a range of polymers and develop them into marketable commodities. Special consideration is given to solar cells as intellectual property.

Interfacial Stability and Degradation in Organic Photovoltaic Solar Cells

Interfacial Stability and Degradation in Organic Photovoltaic Solar Cells PDF

Author: William Greenbank

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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Organic photovoltaic (OPV) solar cells show great promise but suffer from short operating lifetimes. This study examines the role that the selection of materials for the hole extraction interface in inverted OPV devices plays in determining the lifetime of a device. In the first part of the study, the effects of thermal degradation were examined. It was found that devices containing MoO3 HTLs and silver top electrodes exhibit an open-circuit voltage (VOC)/fill factor (FF)-driven mechanism. Physical characterisation experiments showed that, with heating, the silver electrode undergoes de-wetting. With thin electrodes this can result in the catastrophic failure of the device. A fracture analysis study found that silver-containing devices experience an increase in adhesion of their top layers to the active layer due to interdiffusion between the layers. This interdiffusion may be related to the loss of VOC and FF in Ag/MoO3 devices through diffused species forming charge traps in the active layer. In the second part of the study, the effects of photodegradation in different atmospheres were studied. Some material-dependent effects were observed when the devices were aged in an inert atmosphere, including variations in projected lifetime. The effect of oxygen was to greatly accelerate degradation, and remove any of the material-dependence observed in the inert experiment, while humidity led to a substantial increase in the degradation rate of devices containing PEDOT:PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate). This study underlines the importance of considering device lifetime in device design, and choosing materials to minimise degradation.

Fundamentals of Solar Cell Design

Fundamentals of Solar Cell Design PDF

Author: Inamuddin

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2021-08-24

Total Pages: 578

ISBN-13: 1119724708

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Solar cells are semiconductor devices that convert light photons into electricity in photovoltaic energy conversion and can help to overcome the global energy crisis. Solar cells have many applications including remote area power systems, earth-orbiting satellites, wristwatches, water pumping, photodetectors and remote radiotelephones. Solar cell technology is economically feasible for commercial-scale power generation. While commercial solar cells exhibit good performance and stability, still researchers are looking at many ways to improve the performance and cost of solar cells via modulating the fundamental properties of semiconductors. Solar cell technology is the key to a clean energy future. Solar cells directly harvest energy from the sun’s light radiation into electricity are in an ever-growing demand for future global energy production. Solar cell-based energy harvesting has attracted worldwide attention for their notable features, such as cheap renewable technology, scalable, lightweight, flexibility, versatility, no greenhouse gas emission, environment, and economy friendly and operational costs are quite low compared to other forms of power generation. Thus, solar cell technology is at the forefront of renewable energy technologies which are used in telecommunications, power plants, small devices to satellites. Aiming at large-scale implementation can be manipulated by various types used in solar cell design and exploration of new materials towards improving performance and reducing cost. Therefore, in-depth knowledge about solar cell design is fundamental for those who wish to apply this knowledge and understanding in industries and academics. This book provides a comprehensive overview on solar cells and explores the history to evolution and present scenarios of solar cell design, classification, properties, various semiconductor materials, thin films, wafer-scale, transparent solar cells, and so on. It also includes solar cells’ characterization analytical tools, theoretical modeling, practices to enhance conversion efficiencies, applications and patents.