Advancements in P3HT:PCBM solar cells through experimental and simulated techniques

Abstract

Abstract Organic solar cells are a promising alternative in photovoltaics due to their low manufacturing cost and flexibility. In this study, we developed an organic solar cell of structure (ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:PCBM/Al) where the active layer is represented by P3HT:PCBM. Experimental studies revealed that this layer has an energy gap of 1.9 eV and a good absorption coefficient of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mn>10</mml:mn> <mml:mn>5</mml:mn> </mml:msup> </mml:mrow> <mml:mstyle scriptlevel="0"/> <mml:mrow> <mml:mtext>c</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mtext>m</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> . Using analytical and experimental methods based on ( J – V – T ) curves, we extracted the key parameters of our device, including parasitic resistances ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>R</mml:mi> <mml:mi>s</mml:mi> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>R</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mtext>sh</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> ), ideality factor ( n ), and Schottky potential barrier ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>ϕ</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mtext>B</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> <mml:mo stretchy="false">)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> at different temperatures. Also the charge transport mechanism in our junction is identified in this study. We then used simulation to evaluate the performance of our solar cell, obtaining an initial efficiency of 2.13%, in line with experimental results from other research. Our results confirm the feasibility of our theoretical approach, with performance consistent with previous work. However, by introducing an electron transport layer layer (PFN-Br or PDINO), we were able to improve efficiency up to 4.25%. These results highlight the importance of optimising intermediate layers to maximise the efficiency of organic solar cells.