Recent advances in bulk-heterojunction solar cells: a review

Abstract

Because of the challenges brought by our continuous reliance on fossil fuels, there has been a rush in the creation of numerous types of solar cells in recent years. The functionality of organic solar cells with a bulk heterojunction structure has substantially increased in recent years. However, further advancements are required for large-scale engineering of this technology and precision device production. The fundamental of BHJ, working mechanism, characteristics, architecture and recent breakthroughs of this technology for solar cells, photocatalytic applications and photodetectors are highlighted in this article. The approaches to advance the stability, including the control over morphology, absorption coefficient, charge carrier mobility and lifetime, exciton lifetime, exciton binding energy and dissociation are also discussed in this article. Lastly, there are recommendations for needed improvements as well as future research areas in the realm of bulk-heterojunction solar cells. We expect this review could provide enriched information to better understand the BHJ structure and recent progress in this field.