We establish a unified model dealing with the transport of electron and phonon in double heterojunction structures with the coexistence of three nonequilibrium processes: (1) nonequilibrium among electrons, (2) nonequilibrium among phonons, and (3) nonequilibrium between electrons and phonons. Using this model, we investigate the energy conversion efficiency based on concurrent thermoelectric a...

Enhancement in the efficiency of air processed bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices is demonstrated via the addition of highly stable uncapped gold (Au) and aluminum (Al) nanoparticles (NPs) into the photoactive layer. An enhancement in conversion efficiency by 15% is observed, which can be attributed to Localised Surface Plasmon Resonance effects at the small diameter Au NPs and to efficie...

The various device structures used in organic polymer solar cells are reviewed. The operating principles behind these devices are explained in order to provide the reasoning behind the different structures. The incorporation of nanostructures into both bilayer and bulk heterojunction devices to improve exciton separation, charge transport, and light absorption is discussed. Novel ideas such as ...

Using charge modulated electroabsorption spectroscopy (CMEAS), for the first time, the energy level alignment of a polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cell is directly measured. The charge-transfer excitons generated by the sub-bandgap optical pumping are coupled with the modulating electric field and introduce subtle changes in optical absorption in the sub-bandgap region. This ...

Phosphonated porphyrin frameworks that are porous to an electron-accepting perylenediimide are systematically interdigitated with a phosphonated form of the diimide to form bulk heterojunctions. When employed in photovoltaics, these molecularly interlaced heterojunctions provide large junction areas while retaining the phase connectivity of traditional bilayer heterojunctions. Zirconium phospho...

By charge neutralization of carboxylic acid groups in graphene oxide (GO) with Cs(2)CO(3) to afford Cesium-neutralized GO (GO-Cs), GO derivatives with appropriate modification are used as both hole- and electron-extraction layers for bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells. The normal and inverted devices based on GO hole- and GO-Cs electron-extraction layers both outperform the corresponding sta...

Precise manipulation of organic donor-acceptor interfaces using spacer layers is demonstrated to suppress interface recombination in an organic photo-voltaic device. These strategies lead to a dramatic improvement in a model bilayer system and bulk-heterojunction system. These interface strategies are applicable to a wide variety of donor-acceptor systems, making them both fundamentally interes...

Ultra violet photoelectron spectroscopy measurements in combination with the Integer Charge Transfer model is used to obtain the energy level alignment diagrams for two common types of bulk heterojunction solar cell devices based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) or poly(2-methoxy-5-(3’,7’-dimethyloctyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene) as the donor polymer and (6,6)phenyl-C61-butric-acid as the acceptor mol...

We demonstrate the basic operation of an organic/inorganic hybrid single nanowire solar cell. End-functionalized oligo- and polythiophenes were grafted onto ZnO nanowires to produce p-n heterojunction nanowires. The hybrid nanostructures were characterized via absorption and electron microscopy to determine the optoelectronic properties and to probe the morphology at the organic/inorganic inter...

Within the different organic photovoltaic devices the conjugated polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunction approach is one of the foci of today’s research interest. These devices are highly dependent on the solid state nanoscale morphology of the two components (donor/acceptor) in the photoactive layer. The need for finely phase separated polymer–fullerene blends is expressed by the limited exciton...