Improvement of device efficiency by phosphorescent materials in polymers bulk heterojunction solar cells

To improve the performance of organic solar cells, various methods have been used to increase the light absorbance and electron transfer efficiency or decrease the internal resistance of the device. In this article, red dyes of phosphorescent materials are used to improve the performance of bulk heterojunction organic solar cells based on MDMO-PPV and PCBM. Solar cell devices doped with different red dyes showed higher performances in terms of current, voltage and conversion efficiency than those without red dyes. The efficiency was maximized in the devices with a 10% concentration of red dye 2, which was attributed to the longer exciton lifetimes that were induced by the triplet spin state of the red dyes allowing them to reach the p-n junction and thereby generate more photocurrent.