Optimizing an organic photovoltaic solar cell

• Main Author: So, Yan Ching
• Other Authors: Tang Xiaohong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering::Electric power
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/63786
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This report summarizes my final year project (FYP) on organic solar cells in the two semesters in my final year. There are various types of existing solar cells. The most commonly used ones are inorganic semiconductor solar cells and Organic Photovoltaic (OPV) solar cells. OPV cells have numerous advantages over the silicon and other inorganic semiconductor based cells. In terms of cost, availability of materials, weight, flexibility and transparency, OPV cells are on the upper hand. The most amazing part is that OPV solar cells are built on biodegradable and recyclable substrates1, which fit the whole purpose of exploring renewable energy sources. This project focuses on OPV cells fabrication from raw materials, and efficiency optimization through experiments. OPV solar cells are fabricated using Poly(3- hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester as donor (P3HT) and acceptor (PCBM) materials respectively. Experiments were carried out by altering the Donor/Acceptor (D/A) blend concentrations (P3HT:PC60BM), spin coating speed and duration.