Publication date: 17th February 2025
Agrivoltaics, the combination of photovoltaic energy systems with agricultural land use, offers a sustainable strategy to meet the growing global needs for renewable energy and food production. Within this paradigm, organic photovoltaics (OPVs) stand out as a viable and cost-efficient technology for solar power generation. Due to their inherently lightweight, flexible, and semitransparent characteristics, OPVs can be effectively integrated into farming environments, enabling concurrent energy conversion and adequate light penetration essential for crop cultivation. This study is centered on the design and enhancement of organic solar cells specifically engineered for agrivoltaic deployment.
To achieve spectral selectivity, we selected active materials with tailored absorption characteristics. Specifically, we employed near-infrared (NIR) electron acceptors capable of efficiently converting photons in the 700–1000 nm range into electrical energy. These were combined with a carefully selected electron donor polymer in a bulk-heterojunction configuration, enabling the fabrication of organic solar cells with light transmission properties favorable to plant growth.
In this work, we developed both opaque and semitransparent OPV devices with the following structure: GLASS/ITO/PEDOT:PSS/blend/PFN-Br/Ag. In this configuration, PEDOT:PSS and PFN-Br function as hole and electron transport layers, respectively, while the blend consists of a bulk-heterojunction of Poly[[4,8-bis[5-(2-ethylhexyl)-4-fluoro-2-thienyl]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene-2,6-diyl]-2,5-thiophenediyl[5,7-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-4,8-dioxo-4H,8H-benzo[1,2-c:4,5-c']dithiophene-1,3-diyl]-2,5-thiophenediyl] (PM6, electron donor) and 2,2'-((2Z,2'Z)-((12,13-bis(2-butyloctyl)-3,9-diundecyl-12,13-dihydro-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-e]thieno[2'',3'':4',5']thieno[2',3':4,5]pyrrolo[3,2-g]thieno [2',3':4,5]thieno[3,2-b]indole-2,10-diyl)bis(methanylylidene))bis(5,6-dichloro-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-2,1-diylidene))dimalononitrile (A-4Cl, electron acceptor).
The fabricated devices exhibited promising electrical performance (IV-light under simulated AM1.5G spectrum), with the opaque structure reaching a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of nearly 15%, and the semitransparent counterpart achieving around 10%.
We acknowledge support from the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security through the Operating Agreement with ENEA for Research on the Electric System.
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