23-Apr-26

L-T-P-C
3-0-0-3

222EME017
Nanomaterials for Energy Applications
Module - III
Plastic/flexible Solar Cells

Prepared by:
Dr. Rejeesh C R, Professor,
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Federal Institute of Science and Technology
[Link]

Course Outcomes
After successful completion of this course, students will be able to

CO No: DESCRIPTION

CO 1 To understand the semiconductor physics behind the nanomaterials.

CO 2 To explain the application of nanomaterials for energy applications.

CO 3 To illustrate the use of nano-materials in fuel cell applications.

CO 4 To explain the Synthesis and preparation of nano-materials.

CO 5 To summarize the concepts of nano-materials for solar cells.

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Plastic / Flexible Solar Cells

Plastic solar cells are lightweight, flexible, and potentially low-cost
photovoltaic devices based on organic and hybrid materials.

Why Flexible Solar Cells?

Bendable → wearable electronics, curved surfaces
Lightweight → portable applications
Roll-to-roll manufacturing → scalable production

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Comparison with Conventional Silicon Cells

Feature Silicon Solar Cells Plastic Solar Cells
Material Inorganic (Si) Organic / Hybrid
Flexibility Rigid Flexible
Efficiency High (~20–25%) Moderate (~10–20%)
Cost High Potentially low

Advantages of Flexible solar cells

Flexible, lightweight and Tunable optical properties
Limitations of Flexible solar cells
Stability issues and Lower efficiency compared to silicon
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Flexible Organic Solar Cells

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Organic Solar Cells (OSCs)

➢ Organic Solar Cells (OSCs), also known as organic photovoltaics (OPVs).
➢ They utilize carbon-based molecules or polymers rather than traditional
silicon (inorganic) to convert sunlight into electricity.
➢ Unlike silicon cells, which generate free charge carriers directly, OSCs
create excitons—bound electron-hole pairs held together by strong
Coulombic attraction.
➢ Because these excitons are tightly bound (binding energy ~0.3–0.5 eV), they
require a donor-acceptor interface to split into free charges.

Why Organic Solar Cells?

• Ease of Processing

• Mechanical flexibility

• Economically viable

• Safer environment

• Unlimited availability

• Compatibility (thin cells)

• Less expensive than inorganic materials (Si).

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Structure of an Organic Solar Cell

Structure of an Organic Solar Cell

➢ Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) is the

common transparent electrode.
➢ The substrate is glass.
➢ The negative electrode is
Aluminum.

• Optical photons absorbed and creates exitons (bound electron-hole pair).

• Current is generated when the resulting free electrons and holes are transported
through the donor polymer and acceptor fullerene, respectively, to the electrodes.
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Working of an Organic Solar Cell

OSCs convert sunlight into electricity through a mechanism fundamentally different from traditional
silicon cells. While silicon generates free electrons and holes directly, organic materials produce
tightly bound electron-hole pairs called excitons.
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Working of an Organic Solar Cell

[Link] Absorption & Exciton Generation: Sunlight (photons) strikes the active layer of the cell, which is
made of organic materials like conjugated polymers or small molecules. These photons excite electrons
from the Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) to the Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital
(LUMO), creating a bound exciton.
[Link] Diffusion: The exciton must travel through the material to a junction between two different
materials (the donor and the acceptor). This diffusion distance is very short, typically around 10 nm. If the
exciton doesn't reach the interface in time, it will "recombine," and the energy will be lost as heat or light.
[Link] Separation (Dissociation): At the donor-acceptor interface, an energetic offset (difference in
electron affinity) provides the driving force to break the exciton's bond. The electron moves to the acceptor,
while the hole stays in the donor.
[Link] Transport: Once separated, the free electrons and holes travel through their respective materials
toward opposite electrodes.
[Link] Collection: The electrons are collected at the cathode and the holes at the anode, creating an
electric current that flows through an external circuit.
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Major Device Architectures/Types of OSCs

➢ Single-Layer:

➢ Bilayer Heterojunction:

➢ Bulk Heterojunction (BHJ):

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Types of OSCs
Single-Layer:

➢ Simplest but least efficient (1-2%);

➢ utilizes only one organic layer.

➢ It has only one active layer between cathode and anode.

➢ The donar and acceptor polymers are merged.

➢ So distance between electron and hole pair is decreased.

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Types of OSCs
Bilayer Heterojunction:
➢ Two separate layers of donor and acceptor material are stacked.
➢ This has a limited interface area, so many excitons never reach the junction to
separate.

Bulk Heterojunction (BHJ):

➢ The most advanced and common type.
➢ The donor and acceptor materials are blended together into a single layer,
creating a 3D "interpenetrating network" maximizing the interface area for
exciton dissociation.
➢ This ensures that almost every generated exciton is within 10 nm of an interface.
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Polymer Composites for Solar Cells

Combination of conducting polymers + nanomaterials
(e.g., CNTs, graphene, quantum dots) etc

Role in Solar Cells

• Enhance charge mobility
• Improve light absorption
• Increase mechanical flexibility
Common Polymers
• P3HT (Poly(3-hexylthiophene))
• PEDOT:PSS
Composite Benefits
• Better electron transport pathways
• Improved device stability
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Polymeric Materials
• Materials having a delocalized electron system can absorb sunlight, create
photogenerated charge carriers, and transport these charge carriers.

• Organic solar cells generally focuses either on solution processable organic

semiconducting polymers.

• Polymeric Materials as Donor (P-Type)

Eg: Phthalocyanine (C32H18N8), Poly(3-hexylthiophene) etc..

• Polymeric Materials as Acceptor (N-Type)

Eg: Perylene, PTCDA, PCBM, Buckminsterfullerene etc..

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Polymeric Materials as Donor (P-Type)

1. Phthalocyanine (C32H18N8) Molecular Mass: 514.54 g mol−1
Unsubstituted phthalocyanines strongly absorb light between 600 and 700 nm, thus these
materials are blue or green.
Substitution can shift the absorption towards longer wavelengths, changing the color from
pure blue to green.
• 2. Poly(3-hexylthiophene) - P3HT (C10H14S)n, Melting Point: 238 0C.
High molecular weight translates to better mechanical strength and higher charge-carrier
mobility. Longer the polymer chains, easier for electricity to move through the material.
Soluble in common organic solvents (like chloroform or chlorobenzene), which is key for
"printable" electronics.

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Polymeric Materials as Acceptor (N-Type)

1. Perylene (C20H12)
• Molar mass: 252.31 g mol−1
• Melting Point: 276- 279 0C
• The perylene molecule consists of two naphthalene molecules connected by a
carbon-carbon bond at the 1 and 8 positions on both molecules.
• All of the carbon atoms in perylene are sp2 hybridized.
• It has an absorption maximum at 434 nm.
2. Perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride “PTCDA” (C24H8O6)
• Molar Mass: 392.32 g · mol -1
• Melting Point: > 300 0C
• Harmful if swallowed and may cause respiratory irritation.
• Avoid breathing dust/fume/gas/mist/vapors/spray.
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Polymeric Materials as Acceptor (N-Type)

3. Phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester “PCBM” (C72H14O2)
• Molar Mass: 910.88 g mol−1
• It is a more practical choice for an electron acceptor when compared with
fullerenes because of its solubility in chlorobenzene.
• This allows for solution processable donor/acceptor mixes, a necessary
property for "printable" solar cells.
4. Buckminsterfullerene “C60” (C60)
• Molar Mass: 720.64 g mol−1
• Density: 1.65 g/cm3
• Melting Point: sublimates at ~600 0C.
• The C60 molecule is extremely stable, being able to withstand high
temperatures and pressures.
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Nanomaterials for Solar Cells

Types
Quantum dots Carbon nanotubes (CNTs)
Graphene Perovskite nanostructures

Advantages
Enhanced absorption Tunable bandgap
Improved charge transport

Role
Increase efficiency Reduce recombination losses

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Nanomaterials for Solar Cells

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Nanomaterials for Solar Cells

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Nanomaterials for Solar Cells

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Nano Solar Cell

➢ Nano coating on the solar cell, which will absorb 60 % more UV & IR rays than
that of the silicon cell.
➢ Due to multiple reflections, the effective optical path for absorption is much larger
than the conventional solar cell.
➢ Due to the light, generated electrons and holes need to travel over a much shorter
path and thus recombination losses are greatly reduced.
➢ the energy band gap of various layers can be made to the desired design value by
varying the size of nano particles.
Eg:- dye synthesized nano solar cell

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Nano Solar Cell

➢ Nano solar cell even work on cloudy days, more compact and less bulky
➢ They are 30% more efficient when compared to conventional solar cell.
➢ Relatively inexpensive
➢ Short return on investment
➢ Increase efficiency of solar cell, by reducing the band gap of solar cells,
by generating more charges from a single photon

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Nano Solar Cell vs PV Cell

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Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC)

• Dye-sensitized solarcell (DSSC) is the third generation of solar cell which
comprises of semiconductor electrode, counter electrode and electrolyte.

• It utilizes the advantage of the wide band gap semiconductor that sensitized
to the light.

• Low-cost solar cells, Invented by Brian o’ Regan and Michael Gratzel at

UC Berkley.

• Conversion efficiency lower then other thin film cells.

• Price/performance ratio is better.

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Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC)

Components
The DSSC device consists of 4 components:
Semiconducting electrode
• n-type TiO2 and p-type NiO
Dye-sensitizer
• Light harvesting and electronic transition
Redox mediator
• Iodide/Triiodide I- / I- 3 - or CoII / CoIII Cobalt complexes
Counter electrode
• Carbon or Platinum (Pt)
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Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC)

Structure
Photoanode (TiO₂)
Dye sensitizer
Electrolyte
Counter electrode

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Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC)

Photoanode (TiO₂)
TiO2 acts as an absorber of Ultraviolet (UV) energy, but is virtually transparent
to visible light.
It is widely available material.
It is Biocompatible material.
It is Non toxic.
Dye Sensitizer
Absorbs all light below a threshold wavelength of about 920 nm.
Contain attachment such as Carboxylate or Phosphonate group for better
attachment with semiconductor oxide.
Quantum yield of unity for injection of electrons in Semiconductor oxide.
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Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC)

•Redox Mediator: This is the active component (e.g., Iodine, Cobalt) which
directly accepts electrons from the oxidized dye to reduce it back to its neutral
state. Its redox potential directly limits the open-circuit voltage (Voc) of the cell.
•Electrolyte: This is the solution (liquid like acetonitrile or gel/solid) which
provides a medium for the mediator to diffuse through and allows charge to
transfer between the photoanode and counter electrode.
•Function: While the redox mediator does the chemical work of
reduction/oxidation, the electrolyte acts as the transport medium enabling that
work to occur.

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Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC)

Working Principle
Dye absorbs light
Electron injection into TiO₂
Electron flows through circuit
Electrolyte regenerates dye

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Working Principle: Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Dye Sensitizers absorb the Sunlight, which results in electron injection into
conduction band of Oxide (charge separation takes place at interface of oxide
and dye).
The dye molecules are quite small (nanometer sized), so in order to capture a
reasonable amount of the incoming light the layer of dye molecules needs to be
made fairly thick, much thicker than the molecules themselves.
Original state of Dye is subsequently restored by electron donation from the
electrolyte(Redox iodide/Triodide).
Iodide is regenerated in turn by the reduction of triiodide at the counter electrode
the circuit being completed via electron migration through the external load.
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Working Principle: Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Redox regeneration at the counter-electrode (oxidation).
Dye regeneration reaction (reduction).
The voltage generated under illumination corresponds to the difference
between the Fermi level of the electron in the solid and the redox potential of
the electrolyte.
Overall, the device generates electric power from light without suffering any
permanent chemical transformation

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Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC)

Nano materials used in DSC are
─ Sensitizers ( eg- Dyes,quantum dots )
─ Nano-semiconductors( eg:- TiO2, ZnO)
─ Catalyst (eg:- Nano-pt)
─ Metallic conductors (ex- Ag, Cu )
─ Substrates (eg:-plastic or thin layer of glass)

DSC built using nano sized particles which gives:

─ Multiple surface area
─ Reduce band gap
─ Facilitate the charge extraction
─ Provide the excess to hole conductors
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Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC)

Advantages
Low cost
Works in low light

Limitations
Stability issues
Liquid electrolyte leakage

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Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Solar Cells

Hybrid Solar Cells
Combination of:
• Organic materials (flexibility)
• Inorganic materials (high efficiency)
Example
• Perovskite solar cells
Current Status
• Rapid efficiency improvements (~25% for perovskites)
• Commercialization still evolving
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Future Prospects of Hybrid Solar Cells

Challenges
• Stability
• Toxicity (lead in perovskites)
• Large-scale manufacturing
Future Trends
• Flexible perovskite cells
• Wearable solar tech
• Integration with energy storage
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