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Updated: May 13, 2026
Printing Fabrication of Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells and In Situ Morphology Characterization
Published on: January 29, 2017
A multiscale modeling study of loss processes in block-copolymer-based solar cell nanodevices
Sergii Donets1, Anton Pershin, Martin J A Christlmaier
1Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Regensburg, D-93040 Regensburg, Germany.
Optimizing flexible solar cells requires understanding exciton and charge carrier loss. This study uses novel simulations to reveal how copolymer structure and mechanical load impact performance, offering new design strategies.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optoelectronics
- Polymer Science
Background:
- Flexible photovoltaic devices offer great potential for optoelectronics but are limited by performance and durability issues.
- Understanding and controlling nanoscale phenomena like exciton and charge carrier loss is crucial for improving these devices.
- Current limitations stem from a lack of detailed knowledge regarding the interplay of material structure and energy loss mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causes of exciton and charge carrier loss in nanostructured diblock- and triblock-copolymer systems.
- To explore new strategies for optimizing the photovoltaic properties of these flexible materials.
- To analyze the influence of inter-monomeric interaction strength, chain architecture, and mechanical loading on device performance.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a novel solar-cell simulation algorithm to model photovoltaic processes.
- Focused on analyzing exciton and charge carrier loss phenomena at multiple length and time scales.
- Examined the impact of varying chi-parameters (inter-monomeric interaction strength) and mechanical loading on copolymer nanostructures.
Main Results:
- Optimized internal quantum efficiency (IQE) was observed at low to intermediate chi-parameters due to increased percolation paths and reduced charge recombination.
- High chi-parameters led to nanostructures with bottlenecks, causing significant charge losses, trapping, and reduced exciton dissociation, thus decreasing IQE.
- Photovoltaic performance degraded under mechanical loading due to increased charge recombination and accumulation; charge trapping was found to be reversible by altering electrode polarity.
Conclusions:
- Copolymer nanostructure and processing conditions significantly influence charge dynamics and photovoltaic efficiency.
- Mechanical loading negatively impacts triblock-copolymer performance, highlighting the need for robust material design.
- The reversibility of charge trapping suggests potential applications in charge storage media, broadening the utility of these flexible materials.
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