High-performance and eco-friendly semitransparent organic solar cells for greenhouse applications

A SUMMARY Semitransparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) can potentially meet the huge demands of off-grid and rooftop power supplies for advanced agricultural activities; yet, only a few efforts have been devoted to its development. Herein, we developed a high-performance spectrally engineered ST-OSCs using green'' fabrication for greenhouse. Empowered by the newly designed quaternary blends, OSCs were obtained with an excellent power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.71%. Such quaternary blends not only exhibit the suitable photon transmission windows for plant absorption but also retain excellent photovoltaic properties upon non-halogenated solvent fabrication, leading to PCEs of 17.43% for opaque and 13.08% for ST-OSCs (with a plant growth factor of 24.7%), which represent the best-performed OSCs made from non-halogenated solvents. Under the ST-OSCs filtered lights, plants grow favorably, with growth being comparable with that under glass. This work provides an effective approach to constructing organic solar cells with promising features as eco-friendly greenhouse photovoltaics.

Automated summary

This study developed high-performance spectrally engineered semitransparent organic solar cells using green fabrication methods for greenhouse applications. Empowered by the newly designed quaternary blends, the solar cells achieved excellent power conversion efficiency and maintained good photovoltaic properties during fabrication with non-halogenated solvents to meet the needs of plant photon absorption.