title: Effects of magnetic nanoparticles and external magnetostatic field on the bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells.
abstract: The price of energy to separate tightly bound electron-hole pair (or charge-transfer state) and extract freely movable charges from low-mobility materials represents fundamental losses for many low-cost photovoltaic devices. In bulk heterojunction (BHJ) polymer solar cells (PSCs), approximately 50% of the total efficiency lost among all energy loss pathways is due to the photogenerated charge carrier recombination within PSCs and low charge carrier mobility of disordered organic materials. To address these issues, we introduce magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and orientate these MNPS within BHJ composite by an external magnetostatic field. Over 50% enhanced efficiency was observed from BHJ PSCs incorporated with MNPs and an external magnetostatic field alignment when compared to the control BHJ PSCs. The optimization of BHJ thin film morphology, suppression of charge carrier recombination, and enhancement in charge carrier collection result in a greatly increased short-circuit current density and fill factor, as a result, enhanced power conversion efficiency.
authors.affiliation: College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: 1] College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA [2] State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaowen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.affiliation: 1] College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA [2] State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xiong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gong