Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Review Article
  • Published:

Low-bandgap conjugated polymers enabling solution-processable tandem solar cells

Nature Reviews Materials volume 2, Article number: 17043 (2017) Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

The technology of polymer-based organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells has made great progress in the past decade, with the power conversion efficiency increasing from just a few per cent to around 12%, and the stability increasing from hours to years. One of the important milestones in this progress has been the invention of infrared-absorbing low-bandgap polymers, which allows the OPV cells to form effective tandem structures for harvesting near-infrared energy from the solar spectrum. In this Review, we focus on the progress in low-bandgap conjugated polymers and several tandem OPV cells enabled by these low-bandgap polymers. Specifically, we cover polymer-based tandem solar cells; hybrid tandem solar cells combining polymers with hydrogenated amorphous silicon; and unconventional solar cells. For each of these technologies, we address the challenges and offer our perspectives for future development.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: A brief timeline of discovery and development of organic polymers for solar cells.
Figure 2: Principles of organic semiconductor and donor–acceptor polymers.
Figure 3: Molecular structures of representative donor–acceptor low-bandgap polymers.
Figure 4: Various tandem polymer solar cells.
Figure 5: Variety of hybrid tandem solar cells containing low-bandgap polymers.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Chapin, D. M., Fuller, C. S. & Pearson, G. L. A. New silicon p–n junction photocell for converting solar radiation into electrical power. J. Appl. Phys. 25, 676–677 (1954).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Shockley, W. & Queisser, H. J. Detailed balance limit of efficiency of p–n junction solar cells. J. Appl. Phys. 32, 510–519 (1961). This is the classic paper on the theoretical thermodynamic efficiency limit in solar cells.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Miller, O. D., Yablonovitch, E. & Kurtz, S. R. Strong internal and external luminescence as solar cells approach the Shockley–Queisser efficiency limit. J. Photovolt. 2, 303–311 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. International Energy Agency. Snapshot of Global Photovoltaic Markets 2016 Report IEA PVPS T1-31:2017 (IEA, 2017).

  5. Gunes, S., Neugebauer, H. & Sariciftci, N. S. Conjugated polymer-based organic solar cells. Chem. Rev. 107, 1324–1338 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Chen, L.-M., Hong, Z., Li, G. & Yang, Y. Recent progress in polymer solar cells: manipulation of polymer:fullerene morphology and the formation of efficient inverted polymer solar cells. Adv. Mater. 21, 1434–1449 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Lu, L. et al. Recent advances in bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells. Chem. Rev. 115, 12666–12731 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Li, G., Zhu, R. & Yang, Y. Polymer solar cells. Nat. Photonics 6, 153–161 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Li, G. et al. High-efficiency solution processable polymer photovoltaic cells by self-organization of polymer blends. Nat. Mater. 4, 864–868 (2005). Representative report on the understanding and control of bulk heterojunction morphology in a classical P3HT:PCBM polymer solar cell with high efficiency.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Peet, J. et al. Efficiency enhancement in low-bandgap polymer solar cells by processing with alkane dithiols. Nat. Mater. 6, 497–500 (2007). Low-bandgap (∼1.4-eV) polymer solar cell reaching 5.5% achieved using an important solvent additive approach.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Heeger, A. J. Semiconducting polymers: the third generation. Chem. Soc. Rev. 39, 2354–2371 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Bässler, H. & Köhler, A. Charge transport in organic semiconductors. Top. Curr. Chem. 312, 1–65 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Tang, C. W. Multilayer organic photovoltaic elements. US patent 4164431A (1979).

  14. Tang, C. W. 2-Layer organic photovoltaic cell. Appl. Phys. Lett. 48, 183–185 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Sariciftci, N. S., Smilowitz, L., Heeger, A. J. & Wudl, F. Photoinduced electron-transfer from a conducting polymer to buckminsterfullerene. Science 258, 1474–1476 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Yu, G., Gao, J., Hummelen, J. C., Wudl, F. & Heeger, A. J. Polymer photovoltaic cells — enhanced efficiencies via a network of internal donor–acceptor heterojunctions. Science 270, 1789–1791 (1995). This paper is the starting point of bulk heterojunction organic solar cells.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Halls, J. J. M. et al. Efficient photodiodes from interpenetrating polymer networks. Nature 376, 498–500 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. King, R. et al. Band gap–voltage offset and energy production in next-generation multijunction solar cells. Prog. Photovoltaics 19, 797–812 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Zhou, Z.-H. et al. Unique optical and electrochemical properties of π-conjugated electrically conducting copolymers consisting of electron-withdrawing pyridine units and electron-donating thiophene units. J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun. 1991, 1210–1212 (1991).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Havinga, E. E. et al. Alternate donor–acceptor small-band-gap semiconducting polymers: polysquaraines and polyconaines. Synth. Met. 55, 299 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Havinga, E. E. et al. A new class of small bandgap organic polymer conductors. Polym. Bull. 29, 119–126 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Kitamura, C. et al. Design of narrow-bandgap polymers. Syntheses and properties of monomers and polymers containing aromatic-donor and o-quinoid-acceptor units. Chem. Mater. 8, 570–578 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Yamamoto, T. et al. π-Conjugated donor–acceptor copolymers constituted of π-excessive and π-deficient arylene units. optical and electrochemical properties in relation to CT structure of the polymer. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 118, 10389–10399 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Brédas, J. L. Relationship between bandgap and bond length alternation in organic conjugated polymers. J. Chem. Phys. 82, 3808 (1985).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Brocks, G. & Tol, A. Small band gap semiconducting polymers made from dye molecules: polysquaraines. J. Phys. Chem. 100, 1838–1846 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Cheng, Y.-J., Yang, S. H. & Hsu, C. S. Synthesis of conjugated polymers for organic solar cell applications. Chem. Rev. 109, 5868–5923 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Gibson, G. L., McCormick, T. M. & Seferos, D. S. Atomistic band gap engineering in donor–acceptor polymers. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134, 539–547 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Yuen, J. D. & Wudl, F. Strong acceptors in donor–acceptor polymers for high performance thin film transistors. Energy Environ. Sci. 6, 392–406 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Cheng, Y. J. & Luh, T.-Y. Synthesizing optoelectronic heteroaromatic conjugated polymers by cross-coupling reactions. J. Organomet. Chem. 689, 4137–4148 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Dou, L. et al. 25th anniversary article: a decade of organic/polymeric photovoltaic research. Adv. Mater. 25, 6642–6671 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Dou, L., Liu, Y. S., Hong, Z., Li, G. & Yang, Y. Low-bandgap near-IR conjugated polymers/ molecules for organic electronics. Chem. Rev. 115, 12633–12665 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Mu¨hlbacher, D. et al. High photovoltaic performance of a low-bandgap polymer. Adv. Mater. 18, 2884–2889 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Chen, H. Y. et al. Silicon atom substitution enhances interchain packing in a thiophene-based polymer system. Adv. Mater. 22, 371–375 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Scharber, M. C. et al. Influence of the bridging atom on the performance of a low-bandgap bulk heterojunction solar cell. Adv. Mater. 22, 367–370 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Hou, J. H., Chen, H.-Y., Zhang, S.-Q., Li, G. & Yang, Y. Synthesis, characterization, and photovoltaic properties of a low band gap polymer based on silole-containing polythiophenes and 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130, 16144–16145 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Kim, J. S. et al. Germanium- and silicon-substituted donor–acceptor type copolymers: effect of the bridging heteroatom on molecular packing and photovoltaic device performance. Adv. Energy Mater. 4, 1400527 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Dou, L. et al. Synthesis of 5H-dithieno[3,2-b:2’,3′-d]pyran as an electron-rich building block for donor–acceptor type low-bandgap polymers. Macromolecules 46, 3384–3390 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Liu, Y. et al. Aggregation and morphology control enables multiple cases of high-efficiency polymer solar cells. Nat. Commun. 5, 5293 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Zhao, J. et al. Efficient organic solar cells processed from hydrocarbon solvents. Nat. Energy 1, 15027 (2016). Single-junction polymer solar cell breaks 11% efficiency barrier.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Bijleveld, J. C. et al. Poly(diketopyrrolopyrrole–terthiophene) for ambipolar logic and photovoltaics. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131, 16616–16617 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Hendriks, K. H., Heintges, G. H. L., Gevaerts, V. S., Wienk, M. M. & Janssen, R. A. High-molecular-weight regular alternating diketopyrrolopyrrole-based terpolymers for efficient organic solar cells. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 52, 8341–8344 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Dou, L. et al. Tandem polymer solar cells featuring a spectrally matched low-bandgap polymer. Nat. Photonics 6, 180–185 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Dou, L. et al. A selenium-substituted low-bandgap polymer with versatile photovoltaic applications. Adv. Mater. 25, 825–831 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Meager, I. et al. Photocurrent enhancement from diketopyrrolopyrrole polymer solar cells through alkyl-chain branching point manipulation. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 135, 11537–11540 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Ashraf, R. S. et al. Chalcogenophene comonomer comparison in small band gap diketopyrrolopyrrole-based conjugated polymers for high-performing field-effect transistors and organic solar cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 137, 1314–1321 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Hendriks, K. H., Li, W. W., Wienk, M. M. & Janssen, R. A. J. Small-bandgap semiconducting polymers with high near-infrared photoresponse. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 136, 12130–12136 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Ma, T. et al. Efficient low-bandgap polymer solar cells with high open-circuit voltage and good stability. Adv. Energy Mater. 5, 1501282 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Gao, J. et al. Elucidating double aggregation mechanisms in the morphology optimization of diketopyrrolopyrrole-based narrow bandgap polymer solar cells. Adv. Mater. 26, 3142–3147 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Gao, J. et al. Improving structural order for a high-performance diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymer solar cell with a thick active layer. Adv. Energy Mater. 4, 1300739 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Liang, Y. et al. For the bright future — bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells with power conversion efficiency of 7.4%. Adv. Mater. 22, 135–138 (2010). PTB polymers reach NREL-certified 7.4% PCE in conventional configuration. PTB7 polymer is still one of the champion polymers in the field.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Liang, Y. et al. Development of new semiconducting polymers for high performance solar cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131, 56–57 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Hou, J. et al. Bandgap and molecular energy level control of conjugated polymer photovoltaic materials based on benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene. Macromolecules 41, 6012–6018 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Liang, Y. et al. Highly efficient solar cell polymers developed via fine tuning of structural and electronic properties. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131, 7792–7799 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. Chen, H. Y. et al. Polymer solar cells with enhanced open-circuit voltage and efficiency. Nat. Photonics 3, 649–653 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. Lu, L. & Yu, L. P. Understanding low bandgap polymer PTB7 and optimizing polymer solar cells based on it. Adv. Mater. 26, 4413–4430 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Hou, J. et al. Synthesis of a low band gap polymer and its application in highly efficient polymer solar cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131, 15586–15587 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Liao, S.-H., Jhuo, H.-J., Cheng, Y.-S. & Chen, S.-A. Fullerene derivative-doped zinc oxide nanofilm as the cathode of inverted polymer solar cells with low-bandgap polymer (PTB7-Th) for high performance. Adv. Mater. 25, 4766–4771 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. He, Z. et al. Enhanced power-conversion efficiency in polymer solar cells using an inverted device structure. Nat. Photonics 6, 591–595 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. He, Z. et al. Single-junction polymer solar cells with high efficiency and photovoltage. Nat. Photonics 9, 174–179 (2015). Interface engineering leads to a PCE of over 10% for a single-junction polymer solar cell using an inverted configuration and a PTB series polymer.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Zhang, W., Min, C., Zhang, Q., Li, X. & Fang, J. Zwitterionic ammonium and neutral amino molecules as cathode interlayer for inverted polymer solar cells. Org. Electron. 15, 3632–3638 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  61. Ouyang, X., Peng, R., Ling, A., Zhang, X. & Ge, Z. Efficient polymer solar cells employing a non-conjugated small-molecule electrolyte. Nat. Photonics 9, 520–524 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  62. Chang, W.-H. et al. A selenophene containing benzodithiophene-alt-thienothiophene polymer for additive-free high performance solar cell. Macromolecules 48, 562–568 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  63. van Franeker, J. J., Turbiez, M., Li, W. W., Wienk, M. M. & Janssen, R. A. J. A real-time study of the benefits of co-solvents in polymer solar cell processing. Nat. Commun. 6, 6229 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  64. Cui, C. et al. Improvement of open-circuit voltage and photovoltaic properties of 2D-conjugated polymers by alkylthio substitution. Energy Environ. Sci. 7, 2276–2284 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  65. Chen, M. S. et al. Control of polymer-packing orientation in thin films through synthetic tailoring of backbone coplanarity. Chem. Mater. 25, 4088–4096 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  66. Koizumi, Y. et al. Thienoisoindigo-based low-band gap polymers for organic electronic devices. Polym. Chem. 4, 484–494 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  67. Zou, Y. et al. A thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione-based copolymer for efficient solar cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 132, 5330–5331 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. Zhang, Y. et al. Efficient polymer solar cells based on the copolymers of benzodithiophene and thienopyrroledione. Chem. Mater. 22, 2696–2698 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  69. Piliego, C. et al. Synthetic control of structural order in N-alkylthieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione-based polymers for efficient solar cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 132, 7595–7597 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  70. Chu, T. Y. et al. Bulk heterojunction solar cells using thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione and dithieno [3,2-b: 2′,3′-d]silole copolymer with a power conversion efficiency of 7.3%. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133, 4250 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  71. Amb, C. M. et al. Dithienogermole as a fused electron donor in bulk heterojunction solar cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133, 10062–10065 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  72. Small, C. E. et al. High-efficiency inverted dithienogermole–thienopyrrolodione-based polymer solar cells. Nat. Photonics 6, 115–120 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  73. Wen, W. et al. Regioregular pyridyl[2,1,3]thiadiazole-co-indacenodithiophene conjugated polymers. Chem. Commun. 49, 7192–7194 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  74. Ying, L. et al. Regioregular pyridyl[2,1,3]thiadiazole-π-conjugated copolymers. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133, 18538–18541 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  75. Steckler, T. T. et al. Very low bandgap thiadiazoloquinoxaline donor–acceptor polymers as multi-tool conjugated polymers. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 136, 1190–1193 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  76. Yan, H. et al. A high-mobility electron-transporting polymer for printed transistors. Nature 457, 679–686 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  77. Gao, L. et al. All-polymer solar cells based on absorption-complementary polymer donor and acceptor with high power conversion efficiency of 8.27%. Adv. Mater. 28, 1884–1890 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  78. Friedman, D. J., Olson, J. M. & Kurtz, S. in Handbook of Photovoltaic Science and Engineering 2nd edn, Ch. 8 (eds Luque, A. & Hegedus, S. ) 314–364 (Wiley, 2011).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  79. Olson, J. M., Gessert, T. & Al-Jassim, M.M. Proc. 18th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conf. Las Vegas, 21–25 October, 552–555 (IEEE, 1985).

    Google Scholar 

  80. Shrotriya, V., Wu, E. H.-E., Li, G., Yao, Y. & Yang, Y. Efficient light harvesting in multiple-device stacked structure for polymer solar cells. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 064104 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  81. Kawano, K., Ito, N., Nishimori, T. & Sakai, J. Open circuit voltage of stacked bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 073514 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  82. Tung, V. C., Kim, J., Cote, L. J. & Huang, J. X. Sticky interconnect for solution-processed tandem solar cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133, 9262–9265 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  83. Sun, X. W. et al. Inverted tandem organic solar cells with a MoO3/Ag/Al/CaMoO3/Ag/Al/Ca intermediate layer. Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 053303 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  84. Puetz, A. et al. Solution processable, precursor based zinc oxide buffer layers for 4.5% efficient organic tandem solar cells. Org. Electron. 13, 2696–2701 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  85. Hadipour, A. et al. Solution-processed organic tandem solar cells. Adv. Funct. Mater. 16, 1897–1903 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  86. Lee, K. et al. Air-stable polymer electronic devices. Adv. Mater. 19, 2445–2449 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  87. Gilot, J., Barbu, I., Wienk, M. M. & Janssen, R. A. J. The use of ZnO as optical spacer in polymer solar cells: theoretical and experimental study. Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 113520 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  88. Kim, J. Y. et al. Efficient tandem polymer solar cells fabricated by all-solution processing. Science 317, 222–225 (2007). Influential report on high-efficiency, all-solution-processed tandem polymer solar cells.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  89. Park, M.-H., Li, J.-H., Kumar, A., Li, G. & Yang, Y. Doping of the metal oxide nanostructure and its influence in organic electronics. Adv. Funct. Mater. 19, 1241–1246 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  90. Sista, S. et al. Highly efficient tandem polymer photovoltaic cells. Adv. Mater. 22, 380 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  91. Yang, J. et al. A robust inter-connecting layer for achieving high performance tandem polymer solar cells. Adv. Mater. 23, 3465–3470 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  92. Gilot, J., Wienk, M. M. & Janssen, R. A. J. Double and triple junction polymer solar cells processed from solution. Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 143512 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  93. Li, W. W., Furlan, A., Hendriks, K. H., Wienk, M. M. & Janssen, R. A. J. Efficient tandem and triple-junction polymer solar cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 135, 5529–5532 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  94. Shrotriya, V., Li, G., Yao, Y., Chu, C. W. & Yang, Y. Transition metal oxides as the buffer layer for polymer photovoltaic cells. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 073508 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  95. Li, G., Chu, C. W., Shrotriya, V., Huang, J. & Yang, Y. Efficient inverted polymer solar cells. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 253503 (2006). Early report on polymer solar cells with an inverted configuration using interface layers to modify the work function of the electrode.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  96. Janssen, A. G. F., Riedl, T., Hamwi, S., Johannes, H.-H. & Kowalsky, W. Highly efficient organic tandem solar cells using an improved connecting architecture. Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 073519 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  97. White, M. S., Olson, D. C., Shaheen, S. E., Kopidakis, N. & Ginley, D. S. Inverted bulk-heterojunction organic photovoltaic device using a solution-derived ZnO underlayer. Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 143517 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  98. Chou, C. H., Kwan, W. L., Hong, Z., Chen, L.-M. & Yang, Y. Metal–oxide interconnection layer for polymer tandem solar cells with an inverted architecture. Adv. Mater. 23, 1282–1286 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  99. You, J. et al. A polymer tandem solar cell with 10.6% power conversion efficiency. Nat. Commun. 4, 1446 (2013). An all-solution-processed inverted tandem polymer solar cell achieves NREL-certified 10.6% efficiency.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  100. Li, N. et al. Design of the solution-processed intermediate layer by engineering for inverted organic multi junction solar cells. Adv. Energy Mater. 3, 301–307 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  101. Chen, C.-C. et al. An efficient triple-junction polymer solar cell having a power conversion efficiency exceeding 11%. Adv. Mater. 26, 5670–5677 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  102. Yusoff, A. R. M. et al. A high efficiency solution processed polymer inverted triple-junction solar cell exhibiting a power conversion efficiency of 11.83%. Energy Environ. Sci. 8, 303–316 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  103. You, J. B. et al. 10.2% power conversion efficiency polymer tandem solar cells consisting of two identical sub-cells. Adv. Mater. 25, 3973–3978 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  104. Yuan, J. et al. High efficiency all-polymer tandem solar cells. Sci. Rep. 6, 26459 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  105. Liu, W. et al. Nonfullerene tandem organic solar cells with high open-circuit voltage of 1.97 V. Adv. Mater. 28, 9729–9734 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  106. Luque, A. & Hegedus, S. Handbook of Photovoltaic Science and Engineering (Wiley, 2003).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  107. Shah, A. Thin-film Silicon Solar Cells (EPFL, 2010).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  108. Kim, T. et al. Organic–inorganic hybrid tandem multijunction photovoltaics with extended spectral response. Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 183503 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  109. Pattnaik, S., Xiao, T., Shinar, R., Shinar, J. & Dalal, V. L. Novel hybrid amorphous/organic tandem junction solar cell. IEEE J. Photovolt. 3, 295–299 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  110. Albrecht, S. et al. Efficient hybrid inorganic/organic tandem solar cells with tailored recombination contacts. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 127, 157–162 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  111. Qin, W. et al. High efficiency organic/a-Si hybrid tandem solar cells with complementary light absorption. J. Mater. Chem. A. 2, 15303–15307 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  112. Kim, J. et al. 10.5% efficient polymer and amorphous silicon hybrid tandem photovoltaic cell. Nat. Commun. 6, 6391 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  113. Roland, S. et al. Hybrid organic/inorganic thin-film multijunction solar cells exceeding 11% power conversion efficiency. Adv. Mater. 27, 1262–1267 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  114. Ameri, T., Dennler, G., Lungenschmided, C. & Brabec, C. J. Organic tandem solar cells: a review. Energy Environ. Sci. 2, 347–363 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  115. Yang, M. Y. et al. High-performance multiple-donor bulk heterojunction solar cells. Nat. Photonics 9, 190–198 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  116. Zhang, Y. et al. Synergistic effect of polymer and small molecules for high performance ternary organic solar cells. Adv. Mater. 27, 1071–1076 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  117. Honda, S., Ohkita, H., Benten, H. & Ito, S. Multi-colored dye sensitization of polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells. Chem. Commun. 46, 6596–6598 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  118. Lu, L., Xu, T., Chen, W., Landry, E. S. & Yu, L. Ternary blend polymer solar cells with enhanced power conversion efficiency. Nat. Photonics 8, 716–722 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  119. Itskos, G. et al. Optical properties of organic semiconductor blends with near-infrared quantum-dot sensitizers for light harvesting applications. Adv. Energy Mater. 1, 802–812 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  120. Ameri, T., Khoram, P., Min, J. & Brabec, C. J. Organic ternary solar cells: a review. Adv. Mater. 25, 4245–4266 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  121. Yang, L., Yan, L. & You, W. Organic solar cells beyond one pair of donor–acceptor: ternary blends and more. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 4, 1802–1810 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  122. Lu, L., Chen, W., Xu, T. & Yu, L. High-performance ternary blend polymer solar cells involving both energy transfer and hole relay processes. Nat. Commun. 6, 7327 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  123. Li, G. et al. Combinatorial study of exciplex formation at the interface between two wide band gap organic semiconductors. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 253505 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  124. Liu, S. et al. Enhanced efficiency of polymer solar cells by adding a high mobility conjugated polymer. Energy Environ. Sci. 8, 1463–1470 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  125. Zhao, W. et al. Ternary polymer solar cells based on two acceptors and one donor for achieving 12.2% efficiency. Adv. Mater. 29, 1604059 (2017). Non-fullerene acceptors enable the fabrication of a polymer solar cell with over 12% PCE.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  126. Baran, D. et al. Reducing the efficiency-stability-cost gap of organic photovoltaics with highly efficient and stable small molecule acceptor ternary solar cells. Nat. Mater. 16, 363–370 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  127. Liu, Y. et al. Integrated perovskite/bulk-heterojunction toward efficient solar cells. Nano Letter 15, 662–668 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  128. Zuo, C. & Ding, L. Bulk heterojunctions push the photoresponse of perovskite solar cells to 970 nm. J. Mater. Chem. A 3, 9063–9066 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  129. Kim, J. et al. High-performance integrated perovskite and organic solar cells with enhanced fill factors and near-infrared harvesting. Adv. Mater. 28, 3159–3165 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  130. Li, X. et al. Dual plasmonic nanostructures for high performance inverted organic solar cells. Adv. Mater. 24, 3046–3052 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  131. Liu, J. et al. Fast charge separation in a non-fullerene organic solar cell with a small driving force. Nat. Energy 1, 16089 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  132. Hong, Z., Dou, L., Li, G. & Yang, Y. in Progress in High-Efficient Solution Process Organic Photovoltaic Devices Ch. 11 (eds Yang, Y. & Li, G. ) 315–346 (Springer, 2015).

    Google Scholar 

  133. Bae, S.-H. et al. Printable solar cells from advanced solution-processible materials. Chem 1, 197–219 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the US Office of Naval Research (ONR, Grant No. N00014-14-1-0648, programme director: P. Armistead), Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR, Grant No. FA2386–15-1–4108, programme director: C. Lee) and National Science Foundation (CHE 1230598, programme director: L. S. Sapochak; DMR 1335645, programme director: C. Ying). This work was also supported by the funding for Project of Strategic Importance provided by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (project code: 1-ZE29). The authors thank I. Wang for help in editing and proofreading this article before submission.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, 90095, California, USA

    Gang Li, Wei-Hsuan Chang & Yang Yang

  2. Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Gang Li

Authors
  1. Gang Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wei-Hsuan Chang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yang Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Gang Li or Yang Yang.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, G., Chang, WH. & Yang, Y. Low-bandgap conjugated polymers enabling solution-processable tandem solar cells. Nat Rev Mater 2, 17043 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/natrevmats.2017.43

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/natrevmats.2017.43

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing