Conjugated Polymers as Organic Electrodes for Photovoltaics

The use of conjugated polymers as organic electrodes for photovoltaics is very attractive due to their ability to form flexible substrates which can be applied either as an anode or a cathode depending on its configuration. Its properties can easily be tuned via synthetic or post-synthetic treatment processes. In this chapter, an overview of the brief history is given to provide a background on solar cell technology. The conjugated polymers are commonly observed in the third generation solar cells specifically in dye-sensitized, perovskite, and organic solar cells, which mostly utilize them as counter electrodes. First, we briefly discuss the components, criteria, and representative conjugated polymers for dye-sensitized solar cells. Then followed by the composition, mechanism, and utilization of conjugated polymers in perovskite solar cells. Lastly, we introduce the basic configuration of organic solar cells that uses conjugated polymers as both cathode and anode.