Models of charge pair generation in organic solar cells

Sheridan Few, Jarvist M. Frost, Jenny Nelson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

157 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Efficient charge pair generation is observed in many organic photovoltaic (OPV) heterojunctions, despite nominal electron-hole binding energies which greatly exceed the average thermal energy. Empirically, the efficiency of this process appears to be related to the choice of donor and acceptor materials, the resulting sequence of excited state energy levels and the structure of the interface. In order to establish a suitable physical model for the process, a range of different theoretical studies have addressed the nature and energies of the interfacial states, the energetic profile close to the heterojunction and the dynamics of excited state transitions. In this paper, we review recent developments underpinning the theory of charge pair generation and phenomena, focussing on electronic structure calculations, electrostatic models and approaches to excited state dynamics. We discuss the remaining challenges in achieving a predictive approach to charge generation efficiency.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2311-2325
Number of pages15
JournalPhysical Chemistry Chemical Physics
Volume17
Issue number4
Early online date25 Nov 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Jan 2015

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Models of charge pair generation in organic solar cells'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this