Enhancing the Performance of Wide-Bandgap Polymer-Based Organic Solar Cells through Silver Nanorod Integration

Area of Science:

• Plasmonics
• Organic Photovoltaics
• Nanomaterials

Background:

• Metallic nanoparticles can enhance light absorption in organic solar cells (OSCs).
• Researchers explore plasmonics and organic photovoltaics to improve sunlight absorption and photon-electron interactions.
• Optimizing light trapping is crucial for boosting OSC device performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of silver nanorods (Ag-NRs) on the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs).
• To analyze how Ag-NRs influence light absorption, exciton generation, and charge dissociation in OSCs.
• To determine the optimal concentration of Ag-NRs for enhanced device efficiency.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of an inverted OSC using indacenodithieno[3,2-b]thiophene-alt-2,2'-bithiazole (PIDTT-BTz) as donor and PC71BM as acceptor.
• Synthesis of silver nanorods (Ag-NRs) via precipitation and incorporation into the active layer at varying wt %.
• Characterization using morphological, electrical, and optical methods to analyze the role of Ag-NRs.

Main Results:

• A 26% improvement in power conversion efficiency (PCE) was observed with 1 wt % Ag-NRs under simulated solar illumination.
• Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in Ag-NRs enhanced light trapping and exciton generation.
• Optimized Ag-NR incorporation increased short-circuit current density (JSC) from 11.92 to 14.25 mA/cm² and PCE from 3.94% to 4.93%.

Conclusions:

• Silver nanorods effectively enhance light trapping and exciton generation in OSCs through LSPR.
• Ag-NRs play a favorable role in exciton photogeneration and dissociation via longitudinal and transverse LSPR modes.
• The study demonstrates a viable strategy for improving OSC performance using plasmonic nanoparticles.