Theoretical limit of power conversion efficiency for organic and hybrid halide perovskite photovoltaics

TL;DR

This paper derives the theoretical maximum power conversion efficiencies for organic and hybrid halide perovskite solar cells by analyzing energy losses during charge separation and transfer, providing guidelines for material selection.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework to estimate efficiency limits considering energy dissipation in charge separation and transfer processes.

Findings

Maximum efficiency depends on optical band gap and dissociation energy.

Energy loss during charge transfer limits perovskite cell efficiency.

Guidelines for selecting donor-acceptor materials based on efficiency limits.

Abstract

We calculated the maximum power conversion efficiency as a function of the optical band gap for organic photovoltaic (PV) cells by assuming that charge separation is accompanied by the energy loss required to dissociate strongly bound charge pairs. The dissociation energy can be estimated from the relationship between the open circuit voltage (VOC) and the optical band gap (Eg). By analyzing the published data on VOC and Eg, the dissociation energy can be estimated. The result could be used as a guide for selecting donor and acceptor materials. We also studied the theoretical limit of power conversion efficiency of hybrid halide perovskite by taking into account the energy loss involved in the carrier transfer from the perovskite phase to the metal oxide charge transport layer.