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Science 15 December 1995:
Vol. 270. no. 5243, pp. 1789 - 1791
DOI: 10.1126/science.270.5243.1789
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Reports

Polymer Photovoltaic Cells: Enhanced Efficiencies via a Network of Internal Donor-Acceptor Heterojunctions

G. Yu (1),  J. Gao,  J. C. Hummelen,  F. Wudl,  A. J. Heeger

The carrier collection efficiency (c) and energy conversion efficiency (e) of polymer photovoltaic cells were improved by blending of the semiconducting polymer with C60 or its functionalized derivatives. Composite films of poly(2-methoxy-5-(2`-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene) (MEH-PPV) and fullerenes exhibit c of about 29 percent of electrons per photon and e of about 2.9 percent, efficiencies that are better by more than two orders of magnitude than those that have been achieved with devices made with pure MEH-PPV. The efficient charge separation results from photoinduced electron transfer from the MEH-PPV (as donor) to C60 (as acceptor); the high collection efficiency results from a bicontinuous network of internal donor-acceptor heterojunctions.


Institute for Polymers and Organic Solids, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-5090, USA.
(1) Present address: UNIAX Corporation, 6780 Cortona Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93117-3022, USA.


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