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Polymeric Materials for Solar Cells and Energy Storage

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2024) | Viewed by 5513

Special Issue Editors

College of Physics and Electronics Engineering, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China
Interests: perovskite solar cells; polymer solar cells; nanomaterials; photoelectric materials; photoelectric devices; energy storage
College of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China
Interests: perovskite solar cells; polymer solar cells; nanomaterials; photoelectric materials; photoelectric devices; energy storage

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymeric materials and their corresponding electronic devices, including perovskite solar cells, organic solar cells, polymer solar cells and energy storage devices, have attracted considerable research attention because of their inherent merits of inexpensiveness, solution processability, flexibility, and stretchable electronics. In recent decades, extensive research has been conducted to explore the mechanisms of these devices and improve their performance; however, further investigation is still necessary to meet the requirements for various practical applications.

This Special Issue focuses on, but is not limited to, the exploration of the mechanisms of polymeric materials for solar cells and energy storage, as well as the further enhancement of their electrical performance, device design, and fabrication processes.  

Dr. Lijia Chen
Dr. Pan Guo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • polymer materials
  • polymer solar cell
  • perovskite solar cells
  • nanogenerator
  • nanomaterial
  • organic semiconductor device
  • photoelectric materials
  • energy storage devices

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 3744 KiB  
Article
Composite Ionogel Electrodes for Polymeric Solid-State Li-Ion Batteries
by Noah B. Schorr, Austin Bhandarkar, Josefine D. McBrayer and A. Alec Talin
Polymers 2024, 16(13), 1763; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16131763 - 21 Jun 2024
Viewed by 749
Abstract
Realizing rechargeable cells with practical energy and power density requires electrodes with high active material loading, a remaining challenge for solid-state batteries. Here, we present a new strategy based on ionogel-derived solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) to form composite electrodes that enable high active material [...] Read more.
Realizing rechargeable cells with practical energy and power density requires electrodes with high active material loading, a remaining challenge for solid-state batteries. Here, we present a new strategy based on ionogel-derived solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) to form composite electrodes that enable high active material loading (>10 mg/cm2, ~9 mA/cm2 at 1C) in a scalable approach for fabricating Li-ion cells. By tuning the precursor and active materials composition incorporated into the composite lithium titanate electrodes, we achieve near-theoretical capacity utilization at C/5 rates and cells capable of stable cycling at 5.85 mA/cm2 (11.70 A/g) with over 99% average Coulombic efficiency at room temperature. Finally, we demonstrate a complete polymeric solid-state cell with a composite anode and a composite lithium iron phosphate cathode with ionogel SSEs, which is capable of stable cycling at a 1C rate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Materials for Solar Cells and Energy Storage)
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11 pages, 2461 KiB  
Article
Patterned Liquid Crystal Polymer Thin Films Improved Energy Conversion Efficiency at High Incident Angles for Photovoltaic Cells
by Gwomei Wu
Polymers 2024, 16(10), 1358; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16101358 - 10 May 2024
Viewed by 1465
Abstract
In this report, micro-patterned silicon semiconductor photovoltaic cells have been proposed to improve the efficiency in various incident sunlight angles, using homeotropic liquid crystal polymers. The anisotropic liquid crystal precursor solution based on a reactive mesogen has good flowing characteristics. It can be [...] Read more.
In this report, micro-patterned silicon semiconductor photovoltaic cells have been proposed to improve the efficiency in various incident sunlight angles, using homeotropic liquid crystal polymers. The anisotropic liquid crystal precursor solution based on a reactive mesogen has good flowing characteristics. It can be evenly coated on the silicon solar cells’ surface by a conventional spreading technique, such as spin coating. Once cured, the polymers exhibit asymmetric transmittance properties. The optical retardation characteristics of the coated polymer films can be eventually determined by the applicable coating and curing parameters during the processes. The birefringence of light then influences the optical path and the divergence of any encountered sunlight. This allows more photons to enter the active semiconductor layers for optical absorption, resulting in an increase in the photon-to-electron conversion, and thus improving the photovoltaic cell efficiency. This new design is straightforward and could allow various patterns to be created for scientific development. The experimental results have evidenced that the energy conversion efficiency could be improved by 2–3% for the silicon photovoltaic cells, under direct sunlight or at no inclination, when the liquid crystal polymer precursor solution is prepared at 5%. In addition, the efficiency could be much more significantly improved to 14–16% when the angle is inclined to 45°. The unique patterned liquid crystal polymer thin films provide enhanced energy conversion efficiency for silicon photovoltaic cells. The design could be further evaluated for other solar cell applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Materials for Solar Cells and Energy Storage)
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11 pages, 2514 KiB  
Article
Rapid Evaporation of a Metal Electrode for a High-Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cell
by Runsheng Wu, Shigen Sun, Dongyang Liu, Junjie Lai, Yingjie Yu, Shijie Hu, Jun Liu, Shuigen Li, Yunming Li, Ling Li, Minhua Jiang, Chengyu Liu, Jun Deng and Chunhua Wang
Polymers 2024, 16(1), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16010094 - 28 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1349
Abstract
Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted considerable attention due to the excellent optoelectronic properties of perovskite materials. The energy consumption and high cost issues of metal electrode evaporation should be addressed before large-scale manufacturing and application. We developed an effective metal [...] Read more.
Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted considerable attention due to the excellent optoelectronic properties of perovskite materials. The energy consumption and high cost issues of metal electrode evaporation should be addressed before large-scale manufacturing and application. We developed an effective metal electrode evaporation procedure for the fabrication of high-efficiency planar heterojunction (PHJ) PSCs, with an inverted device structure of glass/indium tin oxide (ITO)/poly[bis(4-phenyl)(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)amine] (PTAA)/perovskite/[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)/(E)-β-caryophyllene (BCP)/Ag. The effect of the evaporation rate for an evaporator with a small-volume metal cavity on the performance of PHJ-PSC devices was investigated systematically. Through controlling the processes of Ag electrode evaporation, the charge dynamics of the devices were studied by analyzing their charge recombination resistance and lifetime, as well as their defect state density. Our findings reveal that the evaporation rate of an evaporator with a small cavity is favorable for the performance of PHJ-PSCs. As a result, PHJ-PSCs fabricated using a very thin, non-doped PTAA film exhibit photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.21%, with an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 1.132 V. This work showcases the great potential of rapidly evaporating metal electrodes to reduce fabrication costs, which can help to improve the competitiveness in the process of industrialization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Materials for Solar Cells and Energy Storage)
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12 pages, 6907 KiB  
Article
Effect of Conductive Polymers PEDOT:PSS on Exciton Recombination and Conversion in Doped-Type BioLEDs
by Jiayi Song, Yunxia Guan, Cheng Wang, Wanjiao Li, Xi Bao and Lianbin Niu
Polymers 2023, 15(15), 3275; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15153275 - 2 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1384
Abstract
Although the effect of the conductive polymers PEDOT:PSS on the electroluminescence performance of doped-type organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) has been studied, the process of PEDOT:PSS regulation of exciton recombination region and concentration within the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-based doped-type BioLEDs is still obscure. In [...] Read more.
Although the effect of the conductive polymers PEDOT:PSS on the electroluminescence performance of doped-type organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) has been studied, the process of PEDOT:PSS regulation of exciton recombination region and concentration within the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-based doped-type BioLEDs is still obscure. In this study, we fabricated Bio-devices with and without PEDOT:PSS using varying spin-coating speeds of PEDOT:PSS. The Alq3:Rubrene-based BioLEDs achieve higher luminance (44,010 cd/m2) and higher luminance efficiency (8.1 cd/A), which are increased by 186% and 478%, respectively, compared to the reference BioLEDs without PEDOT:PSS. Similarly, the maximum luminance and efficiency of blue TCTA:TPBi exciplex-type BioLEDs are increased by 224% and 464%. In particular, our findings reveal that with an increasing thickness of PEDOT:PSS, the region of exciton recombination shifts towards the interface between the emitting layer (EML) and the hole transport layer (HTL). Meanwhile, the concentration of singlet exciton (S1,Rub) and triplet exciton (T1,Rub) increases, and the triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) process is enhanced, resulting in the enhanced luminescence and efficiency of the devices. Accordingly, we provide a possible idea for achieving high performance doped-type BioLEDs by adding conductive polymers PEDOT:PSS, and revealing the effect of exciton recombination and conversion in BioLEDs given different PEDOT:PSS thicknesses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Materials for Solar Cells and Energy Storage)
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