Functionalised graphene as flexible electrodes for polymer photovoltaics

With emerging technologies and innovation, solar energy has gained attention due to its low cost and clean future compared to other energy generation sources. Recently, graphene has been used as an attractive candidate for polymer-based solar cells that can harvest solar energy at low cost. Transparent and flexible graphene thin films and its derivatives actively used as conductive and active layer materials have been demonstrated by many researchers in the past decades. This review gives the state-of-the-art on thin, conductive and flexible graphene films as an active electrode material in polymer photovoltaics. The review discusses the emergence of new and promising devices along with the operating principle of solar cells. The review further focuses on the synthesis and deposition of graphene films onto various substrates and its application as an efficient material in different solar cells. Finally, Life Cycle Assessment of graphene engineered photovoltaic solar cells and their implementation for the service operation are concluded. However, the review also discusses the drawbacks of using graphene for solar cell applications along with the impact of these devices on the environment. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.