dr. Sankara Rao Gollu: Fabrication of high-performance nanostructured organic solar cell: An experimental and simulation study

In recent years, bulk heterojunction organic solar cells (BHJ OSCs) based on polymer–fullerene have been widely attracted due to their numerous advantages like light weight, easy processability, eco-friendly, low-cost, they can be fabricated in a large area with a simple solution processable technique; they are flexible devices that involve a roll-to-roll manufacturing process; and their potential industrial application for near future. However, Inefficient light absorption due to the thin photoactive layer and inefficient charge separation are considered as two major stumbling blocks restricting the efficiency enhancement of BHJ OSCs. The short circuit current, open circuit voltage, fill factor, power conversion efficiency and process simplicity are some of the crucial aspects, which are taken into account for fabricating high performance BHJ OSCs. By choosing a suitable nanomaterials and interfaces, and by introducing transport layers to reduce charge carrier recombination, high performance can be achieved in devices. However, it has been widely reported that plasmonic effects in metal nanostructures (Ag, Au, Cu and Al NPs) can enhance the light absorption in BHJ OSCs. Also, studies have shown that use of graphene oxide and metal oxide nanocomposite as an electron transport layer (ETL) can allow the efficient charge collection.