Challenges to the Stability of Active Layer Materials in Organic Solar Cells

• Published in: Macromolecular rapid communications. Vol. 41; no. 4; pp. e1900437 - n/a
• Main Authors: Wang, Kun, Li, Yaowen, Li, Yongfang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.02.2020
• Subjects: active layer materials; Commercialization; Energy conversion efficiency; Morphology; Organic chemistry; organic solar cells; Photovoltaic cells; power conversion efficiency; Solar cells; organic solar cells; power conversion efficiency; active layer materials
• ISSN: 1022-1336; 1521-3927; 1521-3927
• DOI: 10.1002/marc.201900437

In the past 20 years, organic solar cells (OSCs) have made great progress in pursuing high power‐conversion efficiencies, reaching the application threshold. Instead, device stability is becoming particularly important toward commercialization. There are many factors influencing the stability of OSCs, such as light, heat, humidity, oxygen, as well as device structure. Active layer materials, as the most critical functional layer in the devices, are greatly affected by these factors in terms of both efficiency and stability. Herein, it is desirable and urgent to summarize methods for obtaining active layer materials with long‐term stability, mainly focusing on the chemical structure and blending morphology. Meanwhile, the corresponding degraded mechanism of OSCs is concluded and analyzed. In this outlook, challenges for developing high‐performance and stable OSCs are discussed. Device stability is a major challenge that must be solved before commercial application of organic solar cells. In this review, methods to improve device stability are summarized, mainly focusing on stable active layer materials and controlling the morphology of the active layer. The decomposition mechanism and strategies to prevent degradation of organic solar cells are also briefly described.