A review on the effects of metallic nanoparticles and derivatives on the performance of polymer solar cells

Polymer solar cells have obtained great interest in the past few years due to their advantages of low cost, light weight, and excellent flexibility. One of the most important problems of these devices is related to incomplete light absorption which makes it not to obtain the full potential of device efficiency. Among various strategies to improve solar cell efficiency, incorporation of metallic nanoparticles into the matrix has been considered recently. The metallic nanoparticles and derivatives such as gold, silver, copper, aluminum, metal oxide can be introduced into the buffer layer, active layer or at the interface of these two layers to enhance light absorption, electrical characteristics, carrier separation efficiency and subsequently, improve device performance. The present review covers fundamental aspects of polymer solar cells and clarifies the plasmonic effects of nanostructures. Furthermore, the effect of various metallic nanoparticles and derivatives on the performance of devices is reviewed. At the end, some of the technical challenges and future research scopes in the field of metallic nanoparticles and derivatives for polymer solar cells are deliberated.