ABSTRACT
Organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells have been of great interest as an alternative source of energy as the conventional sources of energy are being depleted. Most of today’s solar cells are made using silicon which is expensive because it has to be puried and made into crystals that are sliced thin. Scientists the world over have been exploring alternatives, such as nanostructured or hybrid solar cells. Indium tin oxide (ITO) has been used invariably as a transparent electrode in solar cells. Being expensive, indium has found a suitable replacement in graphene, which is made from ubiquitous carbon. Recently, scientists have explored building semiconducting nanostructures directly on a pristine graphene surface without impairing its electrical and structural properties due to its stable and inert structure. In this chapter, we summarize and discuss, comprehensively, the research made so far for applications of graphene in solar cells, including transparent electrodes, active layers, and interface layer.
