Stabilization of Polymer Solar Cells and Their Importance in Photovoltaic Systems

Nowadays, the use of renewable energy resources has been considered as one of the imminent issues in human life. By converting solar energy into electricity, solar cells can meet most of the needs of communities for domestic and industrial use. Meanwhile, polymer solar cells have received much attention in recent years for their acceptable performance and easy manufacturing method. Nevertheless, researchers are trying to simultaneously decrease the cost of preparation and increase efficiency. In addition to the high efficacy of polymer solar cells, their stability in the manufacturing process is a challenge. For decades, rapid advances in photovoltaic cells have strongly linked the world of polymers and photovoltaic energies. Stable solar cells can be used in a variety of applications, such as space station equipment, solar vehicles, sensors, traffic lights, clocks and watches and more. Due to their high sensitivity to environmental factors, degradability and susceptibility to oxidation, polymer solar cells are very important in performance and stability. Polymer solar cells with high sensitivity to environmental factors and configuration containing of degradable and oxidizing materials have attached much attention in the discussion of stability and performance. In the present study, effective properties in reducing the stability of polymer solar cells, including semi-stable morphology, oxygen, heat, stress, etc., will be discussed. Moreover, outstanding methods for increasing stability such as architectural manipulation and morphology of the active layer, reverse configuration, optimization of buffer layers, stable electrodes, molecular restructuring of polymers and other components, etc. are reviewed and in each section, the principal researches are briefly discussed.