FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT FOR SMALL-MOLECULE-BASED ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAICS

摘要

Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have several characteristics that make them promising as next-generation green technologies, including solution processability, flexibility, and low cost. The primary challenge with any photovoltaic device is achieving a high power conversion efficiency (PCE). Polymer-based OPVs have been demonstrated with PCEs of greater than 10%, but small-molecule-based OPVs (SM-OPVs) have typically lagged behind, with a maximum PCE of 8% reported thus far. But SM-OPVs may have advantages over other kinds of OPVs, such as less batch-to-batch variation, easier energy level control, and more versatile chemical structures, so researchers are not giving up on them.