Organic Solar Cells
Organic solar cells (OSC), also known as organic photovoltaics (OPV), belong to the next-generation technology in the field of renewable energy. OSC employ a unique blend of organic materials to absorb and convert sunlight into electricity. These materials can be processed using low-cost, solution-based techniques, such as printing or coating, making them highly attractive for large-scale production. Heraeus Epurio’s Clevios™ that improves the processing and performance of the latest renewable energy sources.
Clevios™ in OSC can be used as:
- An alternative to the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) electrode such as ITO.
- A hole transport layer (HTL) facilitating the efficient extraction of charges generated in the active layer by light.
Optimized Clevios™ HTL Solar, Clevios™ F HC Solar (a TCO alternative) or CleviosTM PH1000 are not only used in standard architecture devices, but are also particularly suitable in inverted cells on top of photo-active layers such as P3HT:PCBM, providing excellent surface wettability properties.
Examples of organic solar cells architecture incorporating Clevios™ materials are:
- Standard Cells
- Inverted Cells using Clevios™ HTL Solar, Clevios™ F HC Solar or Clevios™ PH1000 top electrode or bottom electrode
- Tandem Cell
Heraeus Epurio also offers low-temperature silver printing pastes for OPV applications that have been developed and tested in combination with Clevios™ HTL Solar.
Recently, perovskite-type solar cells are becoming increasingly popular. Since perovskite active layers are sensitive to water, Heraeus Epurio developed a water-free PEDOT-based hole transport material, Clevios™ HTL Solar 3, which has been successfully applied and tested by leading research groups.