Proton radiation hardness of organic photovltaics: an in-depth study
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Recent developments of solution-processed bulk-heterojunction organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells have demonstrated power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) as high as 18% for single-junction devices. Such a high PCE in addition to its desirable lightweight property and high mechanical flexibility can realize high specific power and small stowed volume, which are key considerations when choosing PV for space missions. To take one important step forward, their resilience to ionizing radiation should be well studied. Herein, the effect of proton irradiation at various fluences on the performance of benchmark OPV cells is explored under AM0 illumination. The remaining device performance is found to decrease with increasing proton fluence, which correlates to changes in electrical and chemical properties of the active layer. By redissolving the devices, the solubility of the active layer is found to decrease with increasing proton fluence, suggesting that the active materials are likely cross-linked. Additionally, Raman studies reveal conformational changes of the polymer leading to a higher degree of energetic disorder. Despite a drop in performance, the retaining percentage of the performance is indeed higher than the current market-dominating space PV technology—III–V semiconductor-based PV, demonstrating a high potential of the OPV cell as a candidate for space applications
Date Issued
2022-06
Date Acceptance
2022-03-01
Citation
Solar RRL, 2022, 6 (6), pp.1-10
ISSN
2367-198X
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
1
End Page
10
Journal / Book Title
Solar RRL
Volume
6
Issue
6
Copyright Statement
© 2022 The Authors. Solar RRL published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionLicense, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium,provided the original work is properly cited
License URL
Sponsor
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000762566600001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
EP/L016702/1
NRF-2017K1A1A2013153
EP/T028513/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Energy & Fuels
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Materials Science
organic photovoltaics
proton bombardment
space
SET MODEL CHEMISTRY
SOLAR-CELLS
ENVIRONMENTAL STABILITY
TOTAL ENERGIES
PEROVSKITE
ORIGIN
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 2101037
Date Publish Online
2022-03-01