ABSTRACT
This article briefly reviews and summarizes recent key developments in organic and polymeric photovoltaic materials and devices. Specifically, the article briefly reviews the four major stages and/or types of the organic and polymeric photovoltaic developments from single layer ‘Schottky junction cell’, to donor/acceptor bilayer ‘Tang cell’, to donor/acceptor blend ‘heterojunction cell’ to donor/acceptor ‘bicontinuous phase separated nano-structured cell’. The current relatively low photoelectric power conversion efficiencies (less than 6 per cent) of purely organic and polymeric photovoltaic materials and devices are attributed mainly to the heavy ‘photon loss’, the ‘exciton loss’ and ‘carrier loss’. However, high efficiency can be achieved as these ‘losses’ can be addressed via optimizations in both space and energy domains as discussed. Organic versus inorganic photovoltaics is also briefly compared.
