EurekAlert June 23, 2021
Although the organic photovoltaic (OPV) elements are lighter, more flexible, and cheaper to produce, their efficiency still falls behind that of other photovoltaic technologies. An international team of researchers (Saudi Arabia, Lithuania, Greece) synthesised a material, which self-assembles into a monolayer that can cover a variety of surfaces and function as a hole-transporting layer in a solar element. They made some modifications in the material used in self-assembling molecular-thin layer (SAM) formation to tailor it for organic solar elements. The organic solar cell using Br-2PACz molecule-thin coating as a hole-transporting layer achieved a power conversion efficiency of 18.4 per cent. The electrode is stable, and after removal of the SAM, it could be recycled and reused to construct fresh highly performing OPV cells. According to the researchers the use of similar SAMs could be potentially extended in other applications including light-emitting diodes, photodetectors, or organic transistors…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ