Application of Graphene-Related Materials in Organic Solar Cells

• Published in: Materials Vol. 15; no. 3; p. 1171
• Main Authors: Velasco Davoise, Lara, Díez-Pascual, Ana M, Peña Capilla, Rafael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 03.02.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: active layer; Carbon; Circuits; Efficiency; Electrical resistivity; Electrodes; Electron transport; Energy; Energy conversion efficiency; Graphene; graphene-related materials; Graphite; hole transport layer; Nanomaterials; Nanoribbons; Open circuit voltage; organic solar cells; Photovoltaic cells; Polymers; power conversion efficiency; Quantum dots; Review; Semiconductors; Short circuit currents; Solar cells; Thermal conductivity; transparent electrodes; organic solar cells; active layer; electron transport layer; graphene-related materials; power conversion efficiency; hole transport layer; transparent electrodes
• ISSN: 1996-1944; 1996-1944
• DOI: 10.3390/ma15031171

Graphene-related materials (GRMs) such as graphene quantum dots (GQDs), graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (rGO), graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), and so forth have recently emerged as photovoltaic (PV) materials due to their nanodimensional structure and outstanding properties such as high electrical and thermal conductivity, large specific surface, and unique combination of mechanical strength and flexibility. They can be a crucial part of transparent electrodes, hole/electron transport materials, and active layers in organic solar cells (OSCs). Besides their role in charge extraction and transport, GRMs act as device protectors against environmental degradation through their compact bidimensional structure and offer good durability. This review briefly presents the synthesis methods of GRMs and describes the current progress in GRM-based OSCs. PV parameters (short circuit current, open circuit voltage, power conversion efficiency, and fill factor) are summarized and comparatively discussed for the different structures. The efficiency recently surpassed 15% for an OSC incorporating polymer-modified graphene as a transparent electrode. The long-term stability of OSCs incorporating GRMs is also discussed. Finally, conclusions and the outlook for future investigation into GRM-based devices for PVs are presented.