Skip to main content
NCBI home page
ACS Omega logoLink to ACS Omega
. 2025 Jan 13;10(3):2849–2857. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.4c08801

Improving the Efficiency of Bulk-heterojunction Solar Cells through Plasmonic Enhancement within a Silver Nanoparticle-Loaded Optical Spacer Layer

Mohammed A Ibrahem 1,*, Bassam G Rasheed 2, Betul Canimkurbey 3,4, Ali M Adawi 5,*, Jean-Sebastien G Bouillard 5,*, Mary O’Neill 6,*
PMCID: PMC11780413  PMID: 39895708

Abstract

graphic file with name ao4c08801_0006.jpg

We investigate the enhancement in the efficiency of organic bulk heterojunction solar cells enabled by plasmonic excitation of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) of different diameters (10, 20, and 30 nm), randomly incorporated within an optical spacing layer of TiO2 placed between the organic medium and the Ag cathode. Such structures significantly increase the optical absorption and the photocurrent within the device system, leading to a power conversion efficiency of more than 4%, over 2.5 times that of the control bulk heterojunction cell. This corresponds to a 61% increase in JSC and a 6.3% in fill factor. 3D Finite-difference time-domain simulations were utilized to investigate the plasmonic field coupling within the nanogap medium of TiO2. They show that coupling between the Ag nanoparticle and the Ag thin film cathode extends the wavelength range of the local field enhancement beyond that obtained for isolated NPs, providing a better overlap with the absorption spectrum of the organic medium.

Introduction

Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have been the subject of intense investigation in the last two decades due to their promising future as a renewable and sustainable energy production source.1−5 Despite their low cost, lightweight, and ease of process on flexible surfaces, organic photovoltaics have inefficient charge separation and collection since the carrier diffusion length is usually significantly less than the optical absorption length (∼100 nm).6,7 Bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells, enabled by mixing the electrons donor and acceptor solvents, partially solve this fundamental problem.8 However, optimized spin-coated laboratory-scale BHJ devices are still too thin to convert all the incoming light into photocurrent.7,9,10 To overcome these limitations, maximizing light interactions inside the solar cell device is a promising approach to enhancing the device’s power conversion efficiency.11−14

Heeger et al.15 proposed a new device architecture based on redistributing the internal electric field inside the organic solar cell to maximize light absorption over the active medium. Such absorption enhancement is achieved by inserting a thin optical spacing layer of TiOx with a 30 nm thickness between the active medium and the back electrode. As a result, the device’s power conversion efficiency is improved by over 50%.16,17 Another promising solution is to harness the plasmonic effect of noble metal nanostructures with spectral resonances within the absorption spectrum of the solar cell.18−20 These metal nanostructures can efficiently absorb/scatter light at specific frequencies and act as a subwavelength nanoantenna, significantly enhancing the local electric field within a few nanometers spacing around them.21−24 Metal nanoparticles also have a wide range of applications, such as light-harvesting centers, novel electronic devices, and nanoprobes in medical devices.25−100 Plasmonic nanoparticle-induced power conversion efficiency enhancement is well-reported in organic photovoltaics.4,27−29 There is extensive literature on strategies for integrating different plasmonic nanostructures within distinct regions of the device structure to improve its performance.30−35 For instance, Baek et al.36 improved the device performance by incorporating Ag NPs of 67 nm inside the hole transporting layer of poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) layer. Ng et al.37 improve solar cell absorption by introducing Au nanostructures of different sizes and shapes within the PEDOT:PSS layer. In a recent article by Nair et al.,38 device power conversion efficiency was enhanced by 15% when Ag NPs were incorporated within the cathode buffer layer and the active medium. Karakurt et al.39 showed a power conversion efficiency increase of 21.4% by adding Au NPs to the device’s active medium. A recent review by Liu et al.21 summarizes effective strategies for adding plasmonic nanostructures in different locations within the organic solar cells for efficiency enhancement. Plasmonic nanocavity configurations have been explored to enhance the efficiency of photovoltaic devices through the excitation of waveguide modes.40−42 Simulations predicted that the excitation of waveguide modes to enhance the performance of photovoltaic devices using metallic nanoparticles is feasible.43

Ag NPs have been widely used in organic solar cells due to their chemical stability, low cost, and ease of synthesis compared to other plasmonic metal nanoparticles.44 Their utilization in solar cell devices is based on their immense capability of absorbing and trapping incident light through localized plasmon resonances, enabling high photocurrent generation and improving the overall device efficiency. This work investigates the plasmonic coupling between the Ag nanoparticles and the Ag back electrode to form a plasmonic nanogap inside the device structure. Plasmonic nanogaps have been shown to enhance light-matter interactions,45−51 and we characterize the impact of their inclusion on the overall device performance, which will have significant practical implications for developing cost-effective and efficient solar cell technologies. The novelty in our work is that we address and examine the possible plasmonic coupling between the incorporated Ag nanoparticles and the Ag back electrode to form a plasmonic nanogap, which has been shown to enhance light-matter interactions and the impact on the overall device performance.

Herein, we demonstrate a 3-fold efficiency enhancement of BHJ solar cells by combining the effects of the optical spacing layer and the plasmonic resonance excitations. We investigate the efficiency of BHJ solar cells of (ITO/PEDOT/P3HT:PCBM/Ag) and (ITO/PEDOT/P3HT: PCBM/TiO2:Ag NPs/Ag) as a function of three different Ag NPs sizes (10, 20, and 30 nm) randomly distributed within a thin TiO2 layer. The TiO2 film is an electron-transporting layer as well as an efficient optical spacer layer that spatially redistributes the electrical field toward the active medium. We also theoretically study the spatial distribution of the plasmonic field stimulated by 20 nm Ag NPs, fully embedded in a TiO2 film of 30 nm thickness, and we investigate the coupling of the plasmonic field of the NP with an extended Ag film (the solar cell back electrode) using Lumerical FDTD software. These simulations suggest that coupling between the NPs and Ag film shifts the plasmonic resonances to longer wavelengths, providing better overlap with the absorption spectrum of the organic photoactive layer and enhancing the efficiency of the organic solar cell. This work introduces a new approach to effectively trap incident light within the device structure, thereby enhancing its overall performance. The simplicity of this approach may lead to a reduction in the production cost of organic solar cell devices involving plasmonic nanoparticles, rendering plasmonic solar cell devices economically viable.

Experimental Method

Bulk heterojunction solar cell devices were prepared under optimized conditions using the following preparation procedure. The substrate was prepatterned 100 nm thick indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass, with a sheet resistance of 20 Ω/sq and 1.8 nm RMS surface roughness purchased from Ossila. The substrates were cleaned thoroughly by sonication for 10 min with three consecutive solutions: DI water, acetone, and isopropanol, and then dried with compressed air. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PDOT:PSS), purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, used as a hole transporting layer, is spin-coated on top of the ITO electrodes at 4000 rpm for 30 s then annealed in air at 150 °C for 10 min. The thickness of the PEDOT: PSS layer was approximately 40 nm. The BHJ active layer of P3HT: PCBM dissolved in chlorobenzene was spin-cast from 2.5% by weight, with the ratio of (1:0.6) from the donor and acceptor compounds, at 2000 rpm for 15 s in the glovebox filled with nitrogen. This was followed by thermal annealing of the active layer at 150 °C for 15 min. The P3HT: PCBM mixed solution is filtered with 0.45 μm PTFE filters before the deposition to remove any possible agglomeration or undissolved molecules. All fabricated devices have an active layer thickness of 120 nm (±3 nm).

TiO2, suspended in DI water at 0.5% w/v concentration, was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich and spin-coated on top of the BHJ active layer at 2000 rpm for 30 s, followed by annealing on the hot plate at 100 °C for 15 min in a nitrogen filled glovebox. The thickness of the optical spacing layer of TiO2 is 30 nm (±3 nm), as measured by a Tencor P-10 Profilometer. To investigate the plasmonic excitation effect on solar cell performance, the optical spacing layer of TiO2 is separately modified with Ag NPs of different sizes. The randomly distributed Ag NPs (10, 20, and 30 nm in diameter purchased from nanoComposix) in TiO2 films were prepared by mixing a diluted solution of 0.05 mg/mL water-suspended Ag NPs with 0.5% TiO2/DI water in 1:1 mixing ratio by volume, for each Ag particle size. The number density of the incorporated Ag NPs for each size is estimated to be 2 × 1013, 2.4 × 1012, and 7.7 × 1011 particles/ml for 10, 20, and 30 nm, respectively. The mixture was then sonicated, spin-cast, and annealed as described above. This process was followed by depositing 100 nm of Ag film by thermal evaporation at 2 × 10–6 Torr to form the back electrode of the solar cell. The solar cell devices were encapsulated with a thin glass coverslip before removing from the nitrogen environment.

Each device’s dark and photogenerated currents, having an overall area of 4.5 mm2, were measured using a Keithley 2400 source meter. The devices were illuminated with the solar simulator (Newport 94023A) at incident power (Pin) of 100 mW/cm2 (1.5 AM). The solar cell power conversion efficiency (PCE) is calculated based on the following equation:52,53

graphic file with name ao4c08801_m001.jpg 1

where JSC, VOC and FF are the short circuit current density, open circuit voltage, and fill factor, respectively. The external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the devices is also measured under short circuit conditions based on the following equation:54

graphic file with name ao4c08801_m002.jpg 2

where λ is the incident wavelength. Measurements were carried out on 2 devices for each device geometry, giving a total number of 10 devices.

Results and Discussion

Figure 1A shows the absorption spectra of the optical spacer layer of TiO2 with and without Ag NPs of different diameters. The inset of Figure 1A shows the plasmonic resonance absorption of Ag NPs in suspension, where a slight redshift is observed when the Ag NP diameter is increased. The thin film spectra show the signature absorption peak of TiO2 in the UV due to the interband electron transitions and the nanoparticle’s plasmonic resonance peaks at 434, 445, and 460 nm for the Ag NPs of diameters 10, 20, and 30 nm, respectively. The absorption intensity also significantly increases with Ag NP size due to the light scattering effect. Figure 1B illustrates the energy level alignment of the various layers across the fabricated BHJ solar cell device. Figure 1C depicts the BHJ solar cell structure, showing Ag NPs blended in the TiO2 optical spacer layer with a thickness of 30 nm.

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Open in a new tab

(A) Optical absorption of TiO2 film with and without incorporating Ag NPs with different particle sizes (10, 20, and 30 nm). The inset shows the optical absorption of Ag NPs of different sizes in suspension. The red shift in the absorption peak with increasing size is attributed to the localized surface plasmon effect of Ag NPs inside the TiO2 film. (B) Energy level diagram of the device structure utilized in this work. The diagram shows the published values of the valence band, conduction band, and the Fermi level of the device structure.15,35,55,56 (C) Device configuration illustrating the incorporation of TiO2 optical spacing layer containing Ag NPs with different particle sizes.

Figure 2 shows the 2D atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of TiO2 optical spacing films with and without Ag NPs of different diameters. The TiO2 film was deposited on top of the P3HT:PCBM photoactive organic blend using the layer configuration ITO/PEDOT/P3HT:PCBM, to simulate the conditions in the tested devices. The root-mean-square roughness (Rq) was calculated by averaging the surface profile values of three-line scans (Figure S1, Supporting Information) using Gwyddion, a commercially available AFM analysis software. The surface topography of TiO2 shows variations in its surface roughness from 2 nm (with no Ag NPs) to 1.83, 2.82, and 3.22 nm with the addition of Ag NPs with diameters of 10, 20, and 30 nm, respectively.

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Open in a new tab

AFM images show the topography of TiO2 optical spacing layers deposited on top of P3HT:PCBM in a replica device configuration ITO/PEDOT/P3HT:PCBM with (A) no Ag NPs, (B) Ag NPs of 10 nm, (C) Ag NPs of 20 nm, and (D) Ag NPs of 30 nm. The inset shows a line scan of the surface topography used to calculate the film’s root-mean-square roughness (Rq), indicating the average surface topography of the film.

The photovoltaic performance of the best five BHJ solar cells on illumination with the Air Mass 1.5 Global solar simulator (100 mW/cm2) is shown in Figure 3A. The BHJ device (red line) has no optical spacer film. The second device (blue line) incorporates a TiO2 film as an optical spacer. The performance of the remaining three devices (green, orange, and gray lines) prepared with Ag NPs of different diameters, 10, 20, and 30 nm, randomly embedded in separated TiO2 films. Table 1 provides a comparison of the devices’ photovoltaic performance at 1.5 AM conditions in terms of their open circuit voltage (VOC), short circuit current (JSC), fill factor (FF), and power conversion efficiency (PCE) values. The device with an optical spacing layer of TiO2 shows a PCE of 2.3%, a 53% enhancement compared to the device without an optical spacing layer, with efficiency of 1.5%. This improvement in device efficiency with the optical spacing layer has already been observed and attributed to the enhancement in the charge extraction process57 and the role of TiO2 in redistributing the electric field intensity inside the device, which helps to increase light absorption inside the active medium.16,58 Solar cells with a modified optical spacing layer of TiO2 with Ag NPs of 10 nm slightly enhance device efficiency to 2.4%. The highest efficiency of 4.0% is achieved with an optical spacer layer modified with 20 nm of Ag NPs with clear improvement in JSC and VOC of 13.5 mA/cm2 and 0.61 V, respectively. This is a 61% enhancement in JSC and 6.3% in FF compared to device performance with only TiO2. The device performance is enhanced even further with PCE of 4.5% when using a monochromatic wavelength of 450 nm, matching the resonance absorption of Ag NPs, as shown in Figure 3B. A 6% and 2% enhancement in JSC to 17 mA/cm2 and FF to 61% has also been reported under the illumination of 100 mW.cm–2 solar simulator when Au nanorods (30 nm length and 10 nm width) were incorporated between the Al back electrode and the TiOx electron transporting layer in an organic solar cell based on PTB7:PCBM blend.59

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Open in a new tab

(A) J–V characteristics of BHJ solar cell devices with an evaporated Ag film as a back electrode and different plasmonic optical spacing layers (BHJ solar cell (no TiO2); TiO2; TiO2/ Ag NPs (10 nm); TiO2/ Ag NPs (20 nm) and TiO2/ Ag NPs (30 nm)) measured under AM1.5 illumination. (B) J–V comparison of BHJ solar cell incorporating the plasmonic optical spacer layer of TiO2/ Ag NPs (20 nm) measured under monochromatic light of 450 nm with the power of 55 mW.cm–2 (plasmonic resonance of Ag NPs embedded in TiO2).

Table 1. J–V Characteristics and Performance of Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells with and without the Modified Optical Spacing Layers of Different Ag NPs Diameters Measured at AM1.5 Illumination Conditions.

Device VOC [V] JSC [mA/cm2] FF [%] PCE [%]
BHJ 0.54 6.8 42 1.5 ± 0.18
TiO2 0.58 8.4 47 2.3 ± 0.13
TiO2:Ag(10 nm) 0.54 10 45 2.4 ± 0.16
TiO2:Ag(20 nm) 0.61 13.5 50 4.0 ± 0.13
TiO2:Ag(30 nm) 0.45 5.5 29 0.7 ± 0.11
Open in a new tab

Further increasing the size of Ag NPs to 30 nm, equivalent to the thickness of the optical spacing layer, led to a significant drop in JSC and VOC of 5.5 mA/cm2 and 0.45 V, respectively, and recording PCE of 0.7%. This deterioration in device performance with increasing the Ag NP size, reflected by the considerable reduction in the FF, has been observed before and attributed to the combinations of many factors, such as excitons recombination/trapping loss pathways aided by relatively large Ag NPs.60−64 The reduction in device efficiency could also result from Ag nanoparticles’ aggregation, which highly affects the surface roughness (as clearly illustrated in Figure 2D). Such aggregation could provide direct contact between the Ag NPs and the organic blend, creating charge recombination centers, which quench charge transport toward the cathode, causing a reduction in device efficiency.65 Furthermore, the high surface roughness, 3.22 nm with the addition of 30 nm Ag NPs, could invalidate the concept of an optical spacing layer in organic solar cells and negatively impact charge transportation and collection.16,66

To further investigate the role of the Ag NPs in the modified optical spacing layer on the device absorption efficiency, we measured the reflectivity of the BHJ solar cell with and without the optical spacing layer in a way similar to that reported by Lee et al.,16 with results shown in Figure 4A. The reflectivity spectra of glass/P3HT:PCBM/Ag, glass/P3HT:PCBM/TiO2/Ag, and glass/P3HT:PCBM/TiO2:Ag NPs/Ag were measured, and the difference in absorption is estimated according to the following relation:16,58

graphic file with name ao4c08801_m003.jpg 3

where Δα is the variation in absorption of the glass/P3HT: PCBM/Ag device after introducing the modified OSL. d is the composite BHJ layer thickness (120 nm), Rwithout OSL and Rwith OSL represent the reflection of the device structure without and with the optical spacer layer, respectively. The measured absorption spectrum gradually increases when modifying the optical spacing layer of TiO2 with 10, 20, and 30 nm Ag NPs.

Figure 4.

Figure 4

Open in a new tab

(A) Variation in the absorption spectrum (Δα) of devices with an optical spacing layer with respect to a device without a spacer. The inset shows a schematic illustration of the reflectivity measurements of the device structures (without the ITO and PEDOT: PSS), with Iin and Iout representing the intensity of the incident and reflected light, respectively. (B) External quantum efficiency (EQE) spectra of BHJ solar cells with and without the functional optical spacer layers and the JSC integrated over the EQE. The inset shows the differential EQE calculated by subtracting the EQE of the device with the TiO2 layer from the TiO2:Ag NPs (20 nm) device.

To understand how the plasmonic effect contributes to the device performance, external quantum efficiency spectra (EQE) were collected from all OSC devices, as shown in Figure 4B. The BHJ device, without the optical spacing layer, shows a typical EQE response of the polymer: fullerene BHJ solar cell with a maximum of around 39% and 46% at 399 and 520 nm, consistent with the literature.67−69 With the insertion of the TiO2 optical spacer layer, the device shows an enhancement in its EQE, reaching about 54% over the entire exciting spectral region. After modifying the TiO2 layer with Ag NPs, the OSCs show further enhancement at the EQE, reaching 59% and 71% when adding Ag NPs with 10 and 20 nm diameters, respectively. Moreover, an enhancement of EQE is observed between the two peaks, developing into a distinct peak at about 460 nm for the 20 nm Ag NP sample. The inset shows the difference in integrated EQE enhancement after incorporating 20 nm Ag NPs into the optical spacing layer, which illustrates a distinct peak at around 450 nm that is directly correlated with the plasmonic resonance field of Ag NPs, as indicated earlier in the optical absorption, Figure 1A. Furthermore, a second broad peak is observed at longer wavelengths with a further enhancement at the edge of the solar cell’s absorption spectrum. These enhancements are investigated below by simulation.

The device with 30 nm Ag NPs shows a poor EQE performance of 35%, compared to the other devices, despite providing higher overall light absorption. This behavior is consistent with its substandard J-V characteristics shown in Figure 3A, a poor JSC and FF of 5.5 mA/cm2 and 29 compared to 6.8 mA/cm2 and 42 of the pristine device. The EQE reflects the efficiency of charge generation, separation, and transportation within the device system, which is highly affected by the absorption response of the active layer. However, another decisive factor is the charge extraction process, which appears to be heavily disrupted by the incorporation of 30 nm Ag NPs. Relatively large Ag NPs have been found to adversely affect the electrical performance of the device due to undesired charge trapping/recombination centers and charge accumulation at the Ag NPs/active medium interface, which causes charge screening.70,71 It may also negatively interfere with the spatial internal field distribution aided by the optical spacing layer.16 The JSC can also be calculated from the EQE integrated over all wavelengths (λ) using the following equation:

graphic file with name ao4c08801_m004.jpg 4

Where S(λ) is the photon flux, and q is the charge of the carriers (Figure 4B), as reported by Saliba and Etgar.72 This value can deviate from those extracted from the J-V measurements at AM 1.5G due to the limited illumination bandwidth in the EQE measurements73,74 (Figure 4).

To further investigate the plasmonic contribution to the solar cell performance with 20 nm Ag NPs, FDTD simulations were performed to investigate the enhanced electric field stimulated by the plasmonic resonance absorption of an Ag NP embedded in TiO2. Figure 5 shows the calculated absorption of a TiO2:Ag NP with and without an overlying Ag thin film. A control simulation of TiO2/Ag film is also performed. With no Ag NP (control structure), the absorption spectrum shows a featureless line across the recorded spectral region with higher absorption at shorter wavelengths, attributed to the band absorption of TiO2. When the Ag NP is embedded in TiO2, the absorption spectrum shows an additional strong peak at 491 nm, attributed to the localized surface plasmon resonance. With an overlying Ag thin film, coupling between the localized plasmonic modes and the continuum of metal–semiconductor-metal gap modes results in two strong peaks at 476 and 521 nm, assigned to the plasmonic dipole mode and a higher-order multipole plasmonic mode, respectively.45,75Figures S2 and S3 (Supporting Information) show the calculated absorption spectra from simulations of a 20 nm Ag NP, placed at different vertical locations across a TiO2 thin film, with and without an overlying Ag film. They also show the corresponding spatial distribution of the plasmonic field enhancement for the different configurations. Comparing the two sets of spectra, it is evident that coupling to the overlying Ag film enhances the resonances in the nanogap between the NP and the Ag film and extends the spectra significantly toward the red. We believe such field coupling boosts light harnessing inside the BHJ solar device system and enhances performance. The split plasmonic resonance may explain why the incorporation of NPs into the OSL results in the observation of two rather than single broad peaks in the differential EQE spectra found in the inset of Figure 4B. The simulation was conducted at normal incidence, so TM coupled modes (E || z) were not excited. These modes, which are typically stronger and further red-shifted than the corresponding TE mode,76 can be accessed in the actual BHJ solar cell because of light scattering. They may be responsible for the further enhancement in EQE beyond 600 nm observed in the inset of Figure 4B. Indeed, a study of a BHJ solar cell incorporating a gold nanorod electron transport layer highlights the role of light scattering from the Au NPs penetrating inside the photoactive medium in the enhanced efficiency of the device.59

Figure 5.

Figure 5

Open in a new tab

Calculated absorption of TiO2 incorporated 20 nm Ag NP with and without the Ag film and a TiO2/Ag film control structure. The inset depicts the simulated structures.

Conclusions

We have significantly improved the efficiency of BHJ organic solar cells from 1.5% to 4.0% by incorporating Ag NPs in the TiO2 electron transporting and OSL of the device. The best performance was achieved when the Ag NP diameter, 20 nm, was two-thirds that of the thickness of the OSL. Differential EQE measurements show two broad spectral peaks that contribute to enhanced performance. FDTD simulations show that coupling the localized surface plasmonic resonance of the Ag NPs with the overlying Ag thin film cathode gives a similar two-peaked electric-field enhancement, extending the plasmonic effect over a broader spectral range. This increases the spectral overlap with the absorption spectrum of the BHJ layer and enhances the device’s performance. Our proposed structure provides a practical approach for plasmonic excitations within organic solar cell devices utilizing metallic NPs to enable an enhancement in power conversion efficiency. Additionally, the fabrication presented here, namely the solution process with self-assembly of nanoparticles, is easily scalable, making plasmonic enhancements in photovoltaics commercially viable.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR) and the Applied Sciences Department, University of Technology-Iraq, for partly funding this work. M.A.Ibrahem would like to thank Ahmet Tarık Işık for consultation and helping with the simulation work.

Supporting Information Available

The Supporting Information is available free of charge at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.4c08801.

  • 2D AFM images of the surface profile of TiO2-incorporated Ag NPs of different sizes (10, 20, and 30 nm) were used to evaluate the surface roughness; FDTD simulations of the plasmonic field excitation of 20 nm Ag NP incorporated at different locations within the TiO2, with and without the Ag extended film (PDF)

Author Present Address

# Department of Physics, Faculty of Polatlı Science and Art, Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, Ankara 06900, Turkey

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Supplementary Material

ao4c08801_si_001.pdf (518.6KB, pdf)

References

  1. Hoppe H.; Sariciftci N. S. Organic Solar Cells: An Overview. J. Mater. Res. 2004, 19 (7), 1924–1945. 10.1557/JMR.2004.0252. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  2. Su Y.-W.; Lan S.-C.; Wei K.-H. Organic Photovoltaics. Mater. Today 2012, 15 (12), 554–562. 10.1016/S1369-7021(13)70013-0. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  3. Siavash Moakhar R.; Gholipour S.; Masudy-Panah S.; Seza A.; Mehdikhani A.; Riahi-Noori N.; Tafazoli S.; Timasi N.; Lim Y.; Saliba M. Recent Advances in Plasmonic Perovskite Solar Cells. Adv. Sci. 2020, 7 (13), 1902448 10.1002/advs.201902448. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Sampaio P. G. V.; González M. O. A. A Review on Organic Photovoltaic Cell. Int. J. Energy Res. 2022, 46 (13), 17813–17828. 10.1002/er.8456. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  5. Amin P. O.; Muhammadsharif F. F.; Saeed S. R.; Ketuly K. A. A Review of the Improvements in the Performance and Stability of Ternary Semi-Transparent Organic Solar Cells: Material and Architectural Approaches. Sustainability 2023, 15 (16), 12442. 10.3390/su151612442. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  6. Street R. A.; Schoendorf M.; Roy A.; Lee J. H. Interface State Recombination in Organic Solar Cells. Phys. Rev. B 2010, 81 (20), 205307 10.1103/PhysRevB.81.205307. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  7. Wu J.; Luke J.; Lee H. K. H.; Shakya Tuladhar P.; Cha H.; Jang S. Y.; Tsoi W. C.; Heeney M.; Kang H.; Lee K.; Kirchartz T.; Kim J. S.; Durrant J. R.; et al. Tail State Limited Photocurrent Collection of Thick Photoactive Layers in Organic Solar Cells. Nat. Commun. 2019, 10 (1), 5159. 10.1038/s41467-019-12951-7. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Al-Shekaili N.; Hashim S.; Muhammadsharif F. F.; Sulaiman K.; Al-Abri M. Z. Efficiency and Stability Improvement of Organic Solar Cells Based on PTB7: PCBM Through Hot-Substrate Coating. J. Electron. Mater. 2021, 50 (12), 6828–6835. 10.1007/s11664-021-09238-3. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  9. Beliatis M. J.; Henley S. J.; Han S.; Gandhi K.; Adikaari a a D. T.; Stratakis E.; Kymakis E.; Silva S. R. P. Organic Solar Cells with Plasmonic Layers Formed by Laser Nanofabrication. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2013, 15 (21), 8237–8244. 10.1039/c3cp51334c. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Vlahović J.; Stanojević M.; Gojanović J.; Melancon J.; Sharma A.; Živanović S. Thickness Dependent Photocurrent Spectra and Current-Voltage Characteristics of P3HT:PCBM Photovoltaic Devices. Opt. Express 2021, 29 (6), 8710. 10.1364/OE.418082. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Li K.; Haque S.; Martins A.; Fortunato E.; Martins R.; Mendes M. J.; Schuster C. S. Light Trapping in Solar Cells: Simple Design Rules to Maximize Absorption. Optica 2020, 7 (10), 1377. 10.1364/OPTICA.394885. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  12. Park Y.; Vandewal K.; Leo K. Optical In-Coupling in Organic Solar Cells. Small Methods 2018, 2 (10), 1800123 10.1002/smtd.201800123. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  13. Zhang T.; Iqbal S.; Zhang X.-Y.; Wu W.; Su D.; Zhou H.-L. Recent Advances in Highly Efficient Organic-Silicon Hybrid Solar Cells. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 2020, 204, 110245 10.1016/j.solmat.2019.110245. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  14. Dastan D.; Mohammed M. K. A.; Al-Mousoi A. K.; Kumar A.; Salih S. Q.; JosephNg P. S.; Ahmed D. S.; Pandey R.; Yaseen Z. M.; Hossain M. K. Insights into the Photovoltaic Properties of Indium Sulfide as an Electron Transport Material in Perovskite Solar Cells. Sci. Rep. 2023, 13 (1), 9076. 10.1038/s41598-023-36427-3. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kim J. Y.; Kim S. H.; Lee H.-H.; Lee K.; Ma W.; Gong X.; Heeger A. J. New Architecture for High-Efficiency Polymer Photovoltaic Cells Using Solution-Based Titanium Oxide as an Optical Spacer. Adv. Mater. 2006, 18 (5), 572–576. 10.1002/adma.200501825. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  16. Lee J. K.; Coates N. E.; Cho S.; Cho N. S.; Moses D.; Bazan G. C.; Lee K.; Heeger A. J. Efficacy of TiOx Optical Spacer in Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells Processed with 1,8-Octanedithiol. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2008, 92 (24), 243308 10.1063/1.2937844. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  17. Sharma G. D.; Keshtov M. L.; Khokhlov A. R.; Tasis D.; Galiotis C. Improved Power Conversion Efficiency by Insertion of RGO–TiO2 Composite Layer as Optical Spacer in Polymer Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells. Org. Electron. 2014, 15 (2), 348–355. 10.1016/j.orgel.2013.11.027. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  18. Ali A.; El-Mellouhi F.; Mitra A.; Aïssa B. Research Progress of Plasmonic Nanostructure-Enhanced Photovoltaic Solar Cells. Nanomaterials 2022, 12 (5), 788. 10.3390/nano12050788. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Battaglia C.; Hsu C.-M.; Söderström K.; Escarré J.; Haug F.-J.; Charrière M.; Boccard M.; Despeisse M.; Alexander D. T. L.; Cantoni M.; et al. Light Trapping in Solar Cells: Can Periodic Beat Random?. ACS Nano 2012, 6 (3), 2790–2797. 10.1021/nn300287j. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Brady B.; Steenhof V.; Nickel B.; Blackburn A. M.; Vehse M.; Brolo A. G. Plasmonic Light-Trapping Concept for Nanoabsorber Photovoltaics. ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 2019, 2 (3), 2255–2262. 10.1021/acsaem.9b00039. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  21. Liu S.; Sun Y.; Chen L.; Zhang Q.; Li X.; Shuai J. A Review on Plasmonic Nanostructures for Efficiency Enhancement of Organic Solar Cells. Mater. Today Phys. 2022, 24, 100680 10.1016/j.mtphys.2022.100680. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  22. Ibrahem M. A.; Verrelli E.; Adawi A. M.; Bouillard J. S. G.; O’Neill M. Plasmons Enhancing Sub-Bandgap Photoconductivity in TiO2 Nanoparticles Film. ACS Omega 2024, 9 (9), 10169–10176. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Ali A. K.; Erten-Ela S.; Hassoon K. I.; Ela Ç. Plasmonic Enhancement as Selective Scattering of Gold Nanoparticles Based Dye Sensitized Solar Cells. Thin Solid Films 2019, 671, 127–132. 10.1016/j.tsf.2018.12.033. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  24. Liu G.; Wang Z.; Sun W.; Lin X.; Wang R.; Li C.; Zong L.; Fu Z.; Liu H.; Xu S. Robust Emission in Near-Infrared II of Lanthanide Nanoprobes Conjugated with Au (LNPs-Au) for Temperature Sensing and Controlled Photothermal Therapy. Chem. Eng. J. 2023, 452, 139504 10.1016/j.cej.2022.139504. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  25. Liu G.; Wei J.; Li X.; Tian M.; Wang Z.; Shen C.; Sun W.; Li C.; Li X.; Lv E.; et al. Near-Infrared-Responded High Sensitivity Nanoprobe for Steady and Visualized Detection of Albumin in Hepatic Organoids and Mouse Liver. Adv. Sci. 2022, 9 (26), 2202505 10.1002/advs.202202505. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Tian M.; Wei J.; Lv E.; Li C.; Liu G.; Sun Y.; Yang W.; Wang Q.; Shen C.; Zhang C.; et al. Drug Evaluation Platform Based on Non-Destructive and Real-Time in Situ Organoid Fate State Monitoring by Graphene Field-Effect Transistor. Chem. Eng. J. 2024, 498, 155355 10.1016/j.cej.2024.155355. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  27. Ibrahem M. A.; Rasheed B. G.; Mahdi R. I.; Khazal T. M.; Omar M. M.; O’Neill M. Plasmonic-Enhanced Photocatalysis Reactions Using Gold Nanostructured Films. RSC Adv. 2020, 10 (38), 22324–22330. 10.1039/D0RA03858J. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Mayimele N.; Otieno F.; Naidoo S. R.; Wamwangi D.; Quandt A. Efficiency Enhancement of Organic Solar Cell Using Surface Plasmon Resonance Effects of Ag Nanoparticles. Opt. Quantum Electron. 2021, 53 (11), 655. 10.1007/s11082-021-03310-2. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  29. Paci B.; Kakavelakis G.; Generosi A.; Wright J.; Ferrero C.; Stratakis E.; Kymakis E. Improving Stability of Organic Devices: A Time/Space Resolved Structural Monitoring Approach Applied to Plasmonic Photovoltaics. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 2017, 159, 617–624. 10.1016/j.solmat.2016.01.003. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  30. Paci B.; Spyropoulos G. D.; Generosi A.; Bailo D.; Albertini V. R.; Stratakis E.; Kymakis E. Enhanced Structural Stability and Performance Durability of Bulk Heterojunction Photovoltaic Devices Incorporating Metallic Nanoparticles. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2011, 21 (18), 3573–3582. 10.1002/adfm.201101047. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  31. Kalfagiannis N.; Karagiannidis P. G.; Pitsalidis C.; Panagiotopoulos N. T.; Gravalidis C.; Kassavetis S.; Patsalas P.; Logothetidis S. Plasmonic Silver Nanoparticles for Improved Organic Solar Cells. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 2012, 104, 165–174. 10.1016/j.solmat.2012.05.018. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  32. Liu X.-H.; Hou L.-X.; Wang J.-F.; Liu B.; Yu Z.-S.; Ma L.-Q.; Yang S.-P.; Fu G.-S. Plasmonic-Enhanced Polymer Solar Cells with High Efficiency by Addition of Silver Nanoparticles of Different Sizes in Different Layers. Sol. Energy 2014, 110, 627–635. 10.1016/j.solener.2014.06.019. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  33. Dasgupta U.; Saha S. K.; Pal A. J. Plasmonic Effect in Pn-Junction Solar Cells Based on Layers of Semiconductor Nanocrystals: Where to Introduce Metal Nanoparticles?. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 2015, 136, 106–112. 10.1016/j.solmat.2015.01.004. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  34. Lim E. L.; Yap C. C.; Mat Teridi M. A.; Teh C. H.; Mohd Yusoff A. R. b.; Hj Jumali M. H. A Review of Recent Plasmonic Nanoparticles Incorporated P3HT: PCBM Organic Thin Film Solar Cells. Org. Electron. 2016, 36 (September 2016), 12–28. 10.1016/j.orgel.2016.05.029. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  35. Yang W.; Lim D. Recent Advances in the Synthesis of Intra-Nanogap Au Plasmonic Nanostructures for Bioanalytical Applications. Adv. Mater. 2020, 32 (51), 2002219 10.1002/adma.202002219. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Ibrahem M. A.; Verrelli E.; Cheng F.; Adawi A. M.; Bouillard J. S. G.; O'Neill M. Persistent Near-Infrared Photoconductivity of ZnO Nanoparticles Based on Plasmonic Hot Charge Carriers. J. Appl. Phys. 2022, 131 (10), 103103 10.1063/5.0079006. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  37. Baek S. W.; Noh J.; Lee C. H.; Kim B.; Seo M. K.; Lee J. Y. Plasmonic Forward Scattering Effect in Organic Solar Cells: A Powerful Optical Engineering Method. Sci. Rep. 2013, 3 (1), 1726. 10.1038/srep01726. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  38. Ng A.; Yiu W. K.; Foo Y.; Shen Q.; Bejaoui A.; Zhao Y.; Gokkaya H. C.; Djurišić A. B.; Zapien J. A.; Chan W. K.; et al. Enhanced Performance of PTB7:PC 71 BM Solar Cells via Different Morphologies of Gold Nanoparticles. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2014, 6 (23), 20676–20684. 10.1021/am504250w. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Thazhathe Nair A.; Anoop C. S.; Vinod G. A.; Reddy V. S. Efficiency Enhancement in Polymer Solar Cells Using Combined Plasmonic Effects of Multi-Positional Silver Nanostructures. Org. Electron. 2020, 86, 105872 10.1016/j.orgel.2020.105872. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  40. Karakurt O.; Alemdar E.; Erer M. C.; Cevher D.; Gulmez S.; Taylan U.; Cevher S. C.; Hizalan Ozsoy G.; Ortac B.; Cirpan A. Boosting the Efficiency of Organic Solar Cells via Plasmonic Gold Nanoparticles and Thiol Functionalized Conjugated Polymer. Dye. Pigment. 2023, 208, 110818 10.1016/j.dyepig.2022.110818. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  41. Shaghouli E.; Granpayeh N.; Manavizadeh N. Plasmonic Enhanced Ultra-Thin Solar Cell: A Combined Approach Using Fractal and Nano-Antenna Structure to Maximize Absorption. Results Phys. 2023, 50, 106600 10.1016/j.rinp.2023.106600. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  42. Wang W.; Zhang J.; Che X.; Qin G. Large Absorption Enhancement in Ultrathin Solar Cells Patterned by Metallic Nanocavity Arrays. Sci. Rep. 2016, 6 (1), 34219. 10.1038/srep34219. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Wei Y.; Xu C.; Xu S.; Li C.; Wu W.; Wang Z. L. Planar Waveguide–Nanowire Integrated Three-Dimensional Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. Nano Lett. 2010, 10 (6), 2092–2096. 10.1021/nl1005433. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Ferry V. E.; Sweatlock L. A.; Pacifici D.; Atwater H. A. Plasmonic Nanostructure Design for Efficient Light Coupling into Solar Cells. Nano Lett. 2008, 8 (12), 4391–4397. 10.1021/nl8022548. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Hao Y.; Hao Y.; Sun Q.; Cui Y.; Li Z.; Ji T.; Wang H.; Zhu F. Broadband EQE Enhancement in Organic Solar Cells with Multiple-Shaped Silver Nanoparticles: Optical Coupling and Interfacial Engineering. Mater. Today Energy 2017, 3, 84–91. 10.1016/j.mtener.2016.12.005. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  46. Pagnotto D.; Muravitskaya A.; Benoit D. M.; Bouillard J.-S. G.; Adawi A. M. Stark Effect Control of the Scattering Properties of Plasmonic Nanogaps Containing an Organic Semiconductor. ACS Appl. Opt. Mater. 2023, 1 (1), 500–506. 10.1021/acsaom.2c00135. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  47. Hamza A. O.; Al-Dulaimi A.; Bouillard J.-S. G.; Adawi A. M. Long-Range and High-Efficiency Plasmon-Assisted Förster Resonance Energy Transfer. J. Phys. Chem. C 2023, 127 (44), 21611–21616. 10.1021/acs.jpcc.3c04281. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Hamza A. O.; Bouillard J. G.; Adawi A. M. Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Rate and Efficiency in Plasmonic Nanopatch Antennas. ChemPhotoChem. 2022, 6 (5), e202100285 10.1002/cptc.202100285. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  49. Marshall A. R. L.; Roberts M.; Gierschner J.; Bouillard J.-S. G.; Adawi A. M. Probing the Molecular Orientation of a Single Conjugated Polymer via Nanogap SERS. ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2019, 1 (5), 1175–1180. 10.1021/acsapm.9b00180. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  50. Marshall A. R. L.; Stokes J.; Viscomi F. N.; Proctor J. E.; Gierschner J.; Bouillard J.-S. G.; Adawi A. M. Determining Molecular Orientation via Single Molecule SERS in a Plasmonic Nano-Gap. Nanoscale 2017, 9 (44), 17415–17421. 10.1039/C7NR05107G. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Kleemann M. E.; Chikkaraddy R.; Alexeev E. M.; Kos D.; Carnegie C.; Deacon W.; de Pury A. C.; Große C.; de Nijs B.; Mertens J.; Tartakovskii A. I.; Baumberg J. J.; et al. Strong-Coupling of WSe2 in Ultra-Compact Plasmonic Nanocavities at Room Temperature. Nat. Commun. 2017, 8 (1), 1296. 10.1038/s41467-017-01398-3. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Baumberg J. J.; Aizpurua J.; Mikkelsen M. H.; Smith D. R. Extreme Nanophotonics from Ultrathin Metallic Gaps. Nat. Mater. 2019, 18 (7), 668–678. 10.1038/s41563-019-0290-y. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. Hu Z.; Wang J.; Ma X.; Gao J.; Xu C.; Yang K.; Wang Z.; Zhang J.; Zhang F. A Critical Review on Semitransparent Organic Solar Cells. Nano Energy 2020, 78, 105376 10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.105376. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  54. Ismail R. A.; Abdulrazaq O. A. A New Route for Fabricating CdO/c-Si Heterojunction Solar Cells. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 2007, 91 (10), 903–907. 10.1016/j.solmat.2007.02.006. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  55. Almora O.; Cabrera C. I.; Garcia-Cerrillo J.; Kirchartz T.; Rau U.; Brabec C. J. Quantifying the Absorption Onset in the Quantum Efficiency of Emerging Photovoltaic Devices. Adv. Energy Mater. 2021, 11 (16), 2100022 10.1002/aenm.202100022. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  56. Das S.; Alford T. L. Improved Efficiency of P3HT:PCBM Solar Cells by Incorporation of Silver Oxide Interfacial Layer. J. Appl. Phys. 2014, 116 (4), 044905 10.1063/1.4891246. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  57. Chaudhary N.; Chaudhary R.; Kesari J. P.; Patra A.; Chand S. Copper Thiocyanate (CuSCN): An Efficient Solution-Processable Hole Transporting Layer in Organic Solar Cells. J. Mater. Chem. C 2015, 3 (45), 11886–11892. 10.1039/C5TC03124A. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  58. Park M.-H.; Li J.-H.; Kumar A.; Li G.; Yang Y. Doping of the Metal Oxide Nanostructure and Its Influence in Organic Electronics. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2009, 19 (8), 1241–1246. 10.1002/adfm.200801639. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  59. Kim J. Y.; Kim S. H.; Lee H.-H.; Lee K.; Ma W.; Gong X.; Heeger a. J. New Architecture for High-Efficiency Polymer Photovoltaic Cells Using Solution-Based Titanium Oxide as an Optical Spacer. Adv. Mater. 2006, 18 (5), 572–576. 10.1002/adma.200501825. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  60. Kakavelakis G.; Vangelidis I.; Heuer-Jungemann A.; Kanaras A. G.; Lidorikis E.; Stratakis E.; Kymakis E. Plasmonic Backscattering Effect in High-Efficient Organic Photovoltaic Devices. Adv. Energy Mater. 2016, 6 (2), 1501640 10.1002/aenm.201501640. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  61. Li S.; Zhu X.; Wang B.; Qiao Y.; Liu W.; Yang H.; Liu N.; Chen M.; Lu H.; Yang Y. Influence of Ag Nanoparticles with Different Sizes and Concentrations Embedded in a TiO2 Compact Layer on the Conversion Efficiency of Perovskite Solar Cells. Nanoscale Res. Lett. 2018, 13 (1), 210. 10.1186/s11671-018-2626-y. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  62. Stolterfoht M.; Philippa B.; Armin A.; Pandey A. K.; White R. D.; Burn P. L.; Meredith P.; Pivrikas A. Advantage of Suppressed Non-Langevin Recombination in Low Mobility Organic Solar Cells. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2014, 105 (1), 013302 10.1063/1.4887316. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  63. Clarke T. M.; Lungenschmied C.; Peet J.; Drolet N.; Mozer A. J. Tuning Non-Langevin Recombination in an Organic Photovoltaic Blend Using a Processing Additive. J. Phys. Chem. C 2015, 119 (13), 7016–7021. 10.1021/jp5129707. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  64. Phengdaam A.; Nootchanat S.; Ishikawa R.; Lertvachirapaiboon C.; Shinbo K.; Kato K.; Ekgasit S.; Baba A. Improvement of Organic Solar Cell Performance by Multiple Plasmonic Excitations Using Mixed-Silver Nanoprisms. J. Sci. Adv. Mater. Devices 2021, 6 (2), 264–270. 10.1016/j.jsamd.2021.02.007. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  65. Gupta D.; Mukhopadhyay S.; Narayan K. S. Fill Factor in Organic Solar Cells. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 2010, 94 (8), 1309–1313. 10.1016/j.solmat.2008.06.001. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  66. Kurt H. Plasmonic Enhancement in PTB7-Th:PC71BM Organic Photovoltaics. Opt. Mater. (Amst). 2022, 133, 113006 10.1016/j.optmat.2022.113006. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  67. Shamjid P.; Abhijith T.; Vivek P.; Joel C. S.; Reddy V. S. Plasmonic Effects of Ag Nanoparticles for Absorption Enhancement in Polymer Solar Cells with MoO3 Passivation Layer. Phys. B Condens. Matter 2019, 560, 174–184. 10.1016/j.physb.2019.01.052. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  68. Chen D.; Nakahara A.; Wei D.; Nordlund D.; Russell T. P. P3HT/PCBM Bulk Heterojunction Organic Photovoltaics: Correlating Efficiency and Morphology. Nano Lett. 2011, 11 (2), 561–567. 10.1021/nl103482n. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  69. Gevaerts V. S.; Koster L. J. A.; Wienk M. M.; Janssen R. A. J. Discriminating between Bilayer and Bulk Heterojunction Polymer:Fullerene Solar Cells Using the External Quantum Efficiency. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2011, 3 (9), 3252–3255. 10.1021/am200755m. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  70. Lin X.; Seok J.; Yoon S.; Kim T.; Kim B.; Kim K. Morphological Investigation of P3HT/PCBM Heterojunction and Its Effects on the Performance of Bilayer Organic Solar Cells. Synth. Met. 2014, 196, 145–150. 10.1016/j.synthmet.2014.07.008. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  71. Du P.; Jing P.; Li D.; Cao Y.; Liu Z.; Sun Z. Plasmonic Ag@Oxide Nanoprisms for Enhanced Performance of Organic Solar Cells. Small 2015, 11 (20), 2454–2462. 10.1002/smll.201402757. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  72. Mandoc M. M.; Veurman W.; Koster L. J. A.; de Boer B.; Blom P. W. M. Origin of the Reduced Fill Factor and Photocurrent in MDMO-PPV:PCNEPV All-Polymer Solar Cells. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2007, 17 (13), 2167–2173. 10.1002/adfm.200601110. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  73. Saliba M.; Etgar L. Current Density Mismatch in Perovskite Solar Cells. ACS Energy Lett. 2020, 5 (9), 2886–2888. 10.1021/acsenergylett.0c01642. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  74. Lübke D.; Hartnagel P.; Angona J.; Kirchartz T. Comparing and Quantifying Indoor Performance of Organic Solar Cells. Adv. Energy Mater. 2021, 11 (34), 2101474 10.1002/aenm.202101474. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  75. Sanchez J. G.; Torimtubun A. A. A.; Balderrama V. S.; Estrada M.; Pallares J.; Marsal L. F. Effects of Annealing Temperature on the Performance of Organic Solar Cells Based on Polymer: Non-Fullerene Using V 2 O 5 as HTL. IEEE J. Electron Devices Soc. 2020, 8, 421–428. 10.1109/JEDS.2020.2964634. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  76. Ikeda K.; Fujimoto N.; Uosaki K. Nanoscale Optical and Mechanical Manipulation of Molecular Alignment in Metal–Molecule–Metal Structures. J. Phys. Chem. C 2014, 118 (37), 21550–21557. 10.1021/jp5036426. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  77. Hu M.; Ghoshal A.; Marquez M.; Kik P. G. Single Particle Spectroscopy Study of Metal-Film-Induced Tuning of Silver Nanoparticle Plasmon Resonances. J. Phys. Chem. C 2010, 114 (16), 7509–7514. 10.1021/jp911416a. [DOI] [Google Scholar]

Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Supplementary Materials

ao4c08801_si_001.pdf (518.6KB, pdf)

Articles from ACS Omega are provided here courtesy of American Chemical Society

RESOURCES