the research in new organic π-conjugated molecules with specific properties has become one of the most interesting topics in fields of materials chemistry. these materials are promising for optoelectronic device technology such as solar cells. on the other hand, the use of low band gap materials is a viable method for better harvesting of the solar spectrum and increasing its efficiency. the co...

We are glad to announce the Special Issue "Nanostructured Solar Cells", published in Nanomaterials. This issue consists of eight articles, two communications, and one review paper, covering major important aspects of nanostructured solar cells of varying types. From fundamental physicochemical investigations to technological advances, and from single junction solar cells (silicon solar cell, dy...

In the present study, two new organic dyes based on indigo were prepared and used as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells. To this end, indoxyl was utilized as the electron donor and cyanoacrylic acid as the electron acceptor anchoring groups. These dyes together with their corresponding intermediates were purified and characterized by FTIR, 1HNMR, 13CNMR, elemental analysis and UV-Visible...

This work elucidates the impact of charge transport on the photovoltaic properties of organic solar cells. Here we show that the analysis of current-voltage curves of organic solar cells under illumination with the Shockley equation results in values for ideality factor, photocurrent and parallel resistance, which lack physical meaning. Drift-diffusion simulations for a wide range of charge-car...

There has been much controversy over the incorporation of organic-ligand-encapsulated plasmonic nanoparticles in the active layer of bulk heterojunction organic solar cells, where both enhancement and detraction in performance have been reported. Here through comprehensive transient optical spectroscopy and electrical characterization, we demonstrate evidence of traps responsible for performanc...

To enhance the power conversion efficiency in organic solar cells, charge recombination loss needs to be minimized. First, we perform transient absorption spectroscopy to study the charge recombination dynamics of thin film bulk heterojunction of the archetype organic solar cell molecules, copper phthalocyanine (CuPC) and 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic bis-benzimidazole (PTCBI). We report the...