Proceedings of 6th International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV14)
Publication date: 1st March 2014
In the scenario of flexible organic photovoltaics (OPVs), the substitution of synthetic materials, typically used as supports, with bio-derived polymers opens the way toward an ecologic reinterpretation of photovoltaic technology[1]. In this view, silk fibroin (SF) natural protein extracted from Bombyx mori cocoon, represents a promising alternative thanks to unique “green” behavior supplemented by interesting mechanical and physical properties[2]. Indeed, SF is a biopolymer which can be easily processed from aqueous solution to form transparent and flexible films.
Here we report the first step toward the preparation of free-standing, stable and compatible SF film as promising support material for organic solar cells. As a result, solution-processed ITO-free bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photovoltaic devices, using P3HT:PC61BM as standard photoactive layer, prepared on the top of a thick (~400 nm) SF layer and supported on a secondary substrate (glass or PET), were fabricated and characterized (Figure A and B). In this way, we demonstrate for the first time the affinity and compatibility of SF films with the OPV technology.
Interestingly, the encouraging results in terms of power conversion efficiency (PCE), chemical-physical stability and shelf life of the resulting devices, pave the way toward next-generation “green”, fully solution-processable, cheap and flexible silk-supported ITO-free organic solar cells.
Device structure of SF based ITO-free BHJ solar cell (A). Picture of flexible ITO-free BHJ device on PET/SF stack fabricated in CNR-ISMN laboratories (B).
[1] Strange, M.; Plackett, D.; Kaasgaard, M.; Krebs, F. C. Biodegradable polymer solar cells. Solar Energy materials & solar cells 2008, 92, 805-813. [2] Tao, H.; Kaplan D. L.; Omenetto F. G. Silk materials - A road to Sustainable High Technology. Advanced Materials 2012, 24, 2824-2837.
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