Optimization of energy level alignment for efficient organic photovoltaics

Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have attracted significant interest in an interdisciplinary research field for the decades as a next-generation photovoltaic device due to their unique advantages. One of requirements for OPVs having high power conversion efficiency is the favorable energy level alignment between the electrode/organic and organic/organic interfaces to manage the exciton dissociation and improve the charge transport. In this review, strategies to enhance the OPV performance by controlling the energy level alignment are discussed. The insertion of an exciton blocking layer leads to the efficient dissociation of photogenerated excitons at the donor/acceptor interface enhancing the short-circuit current density. The choice of a donor having a high ionization energy and an acceptor having a low electron affinity increases the open-circuit voltage. The insertion of an appropriate work function modifier which reduces the charge injection barrier removes the S-kink in current density-voltage characteristics of OPVs and improves the fill factor. This review would give a valuable guide to design the efficient OPV structure.

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