Abstract
Recent progress in organic (semiconductor) solar cells (OSCs) has led to power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) reaching 20%, with predictions that 25% may be possible. Additional to PCE improvements, significant efforts have been made to address the engineering challenges that have traditionally limited OSCs small area devices often with poor temporal stability. Layer-by-layer (LbL) processing of active layers has emerged as a promising approach to tackle these challenges, with numerous state-of-the-art OSCs processed using LbL reported. In this Perspective, recent developments are developed in enhancing OSC efficiency and stability, with a particular focus on the working mechanisms of pseudo-bilayer heterojunctions (P-BHJ) and the practical aspects of fabricating high-performance devices using LbL techniques. By providing insights into LbL processing and the resultant film morphology, it is hoped to contribute to the ongoing efforts to improve OSC efficiency, stability, and scalability and to explore their potential for broader applications such as for example for indoor light harvesting or agrivoltaics.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2500816 |
| Journal | Advanced Energy Materials |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 24 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 24 Jun 2025 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Funding
This work was supported by the Welsh Government's Sêr Cymru II Program through the European Regional Development Fund, Welsh European Funding Office, and the Swansea University strategic initiative in Sustainable Advanced Materials. A.A. was a Sêr Cymru II Rising Star Fellow, and P.M. is a Sêr Cymru II National Research Chair. O.J.S. is an Academy Research Fellow and acknowledges funding from the Research Council of Finland through project #357196. This work was also funded by UKRI through the EPSRC Program Grant EP/T028513/1 Application Targeted Integrated Photovoltaics and Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials (UKRI Research Partnership Investment Fund).