Integration of Conductive SnO<sub>2</sub> in Binary Organic Solar Cells with Fine-Tuned Nanostructured D18:L8-BO with Low Energy Loss for Efficient and Stable Structure by Optoelectronic Simulation

Enhancing the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs) is essential for achieving sustainability in energy production. This study presents an innovative strategy that involves fine-tuning the thickness of the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photoactive layer at the nanoscale to improve efficiency. The or...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mohamed El Amine Boudia, Cunlu Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Nanomaterials
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/5/368
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850052806719832064
author Mohamed El Amine Boudia
Cunlu Zhao
author_facet Mohamed El Amine Boudia
Cunlu Zhao
author_sort Mohamed El Amine Boudia
collection DOAJ
description Enhancing the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs) is essential for achieving sustainability in energy production. This study presents an innovative strategy that involves fine-tuning the thickness of the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photoactive layer at the nanoscale to improve efficiency. The organic blend D18:L8-BO is utilized to capture a wide range of photons while addressing the challenge of minimizing optical losses from low-energy photons. The research incorporates SnO<sub>2</sub> and ZnO as electron transport layers (ETLs), with PMMA functioning as a hole transport layer (HTL). A comprehensive analysis of photon absorption, charge carrier generation, localized energy fluctuations, and thermal stability reveals their critical role in enhancing the efficiency of D18:L8-BO active films. Notably, introducing SnO<sub>2</sub> as an ETL significantly decreased losses and modified localized energy, achieving an impressive efficiency of 19.85% at an optimized blend thickness of 50 nm with low voltage loss (ΔV<sub>oc</sub>) of 0.4 V within a J<sub>sc</sub> of 28 mA cm<sup>−2</sup> by performing an optoelectronic simulation employing “Oghma-Nano 8.1.015” software. In addition, the SnO<sub>2</sub>-based structure conserved 88% of the PCE at 350 K compared to room temperature PCE, which describes the high thermal stability of this structure. These results demonstrate the potential of this methodology in improving the performance of OSCs.
format Article
id doaj-art-b7350aa98b9e466982a5289e2d9c2892
institution DOAJ
issn 2079-4991
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Nanomaterials
spelling doaj-art-b7350aa98b9e466982a5289e2d9c28922025-08-20T02:52:42ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912025-02-0115536810.3390/nano15050368Integration of Conductive SnO<sub>2</sub> in Binary Organic Solar Cells with Fine-Tuned Nanostructured D18:L8-BO with Low Energy Loss for Efficient and Stable Structure by Optoelectronic SimulationMohamed El Amine Boudia0Cunlu Zhao1Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Thermo-Fluid Science and Engineering, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaMinistry of Education Key Laboratory of Thermo-Fluid Science and Engineering, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaEnhancing the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs) is essential for achieving sustainability in energy production. This study presents an innovative strategy that involves fine-tuning the thickness of the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photoactive layer at the nanoscale to improve efficiency. The organic blend D18:L8-BO is utilized to capture a wide range of photons while addressing the challenge of minimizing optical losses from low-energy photons. The research incorporates SnO<sub>2</sub> and ZnO as electron transport layers (ETLs), with PMMA functioning as a hole transport layer (HTL). A comprehensive analysis of photon absorption, charge carrier generation, localized energy fluctuations, and thermal stability reveals their critical role in enhancing the efficiency of D18:L8-BO active films. Notably, introducing SnO<sub>2</sub> as an ETL significantly decreased losses and modified localized energy, achieving an impressive efficiency of 19.85% at an optimized blend thickness of 50 nm with low voltage loss (ΔV<sub>oc</sub>) of 0.4 V within a J<sub>sc</sub> of 28 mA cm<sup>−2</sup> by performing an optoelectronic simulation employing “Oghma-Nano 8.1.015” software. In addition, the SnO<sub>2</sub>-based structure conserved 88% of the PCE at 350 K compared to room temperature PCE, which describes the high thermal stability of this structure. These results demonstrate the potential of this methodology in improving the performance of OSCs.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/5/368binary organic solar cellsSnO<sub>2</sub>electron transport layerbulk heterojunctionfine-tuned active layerphoton absorption
spellingShingle Mohamed El Amine Boudia
Cunlu Zhao
Integration of Conductive SnO<sub>2</sub> in Binary Organic Solar Cells with Fine-Tuned Nanostructured D18:L8-BO with Low Energy Loss for Efficient and Stable Structure by Optoelectronic Simulation
Nanomaterials
binary organic solar cells
SnO<sub>2</sub>
electron transport layer
bulk heterojunction
fine-tuned active layer
photon absorption
title Integration of Conductive SnO<sub>2</sub> in Binary Organic Solar Cells with Fine-Tuned Nanostructured D18:L8-BO with Low Energy Loss for Efficient and Stable Structure by Optoelectronic Simulation
title_full Integration of Conductive SnO<sub>2</sub> in Binary Organic Solar Cells with Fine-Tuned Nanostructured D18:L8-BO with Low Energy Loss for Efficient and Stable Structure by Optoelectronic Simulation
title_fullStr Integration of Conductive SnO<sub>2</sub> in Binary Organic Solar Cells with Fine-Tuned Nanostructured D18:L8-BO with Low Energy Loss for Efficient and Stable Structure by Optoelectronic Simulation
title_full_unstemmed Integration of Conductive SnO<sub>2</sub> in Binary Organic Solar Cells with Fine-Tuned Nanostructured D18:L8-BO with Low Energy Loss for Efficient and Stable Structure by Optoelectronic Simulation
title_short Integration of Conductive SnO<sub>2</sub> in Binary Organic Solar Cells with Fine-Tuned Nanostructured D18:L8-BO with Low Energy Loss for Efficient and Stable Structure by Optoelectronic Simulation
title_sort integration of conductive sno sub 2 sub in binary organic solar cells with fine tuned nanostructured d18 l8 bo with low energy loss for efficient and stable structure by optoelectronic simulation
topic binary organic solar cells
SnO<sub>2</sub>
electron transport layer
bulk heterojunction
fine-tuned active layer
photon absorption
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/5/368
work_keys_str_mv AT mohamedelamineboudia integrationofconductivesnosub2subinbinaryorganicsolarcellswithfinetunednanostructuredd18l8bowithlowenergylossforefficientandstablestructurebyoptoelectronicsimulation
AT cunluzhao integrationofconductivesnosub2subinbinaryorganicsolarcellswithfinetunednanostructuredd18l8bowithlowenergylossforefficientandstablestructurebyoptoelectronicsimulation