Regenerated Cellulose Fiber Solar Cell

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel photovoltaic fiber using regenerated cellulose, silver nanowires, and organic solar cell materials, showing potential for integration into smart textiles and wearable electronics.

Contribution

It introduces a new fiber-based solar cell using commercially available viscose fibers with solution-processable materials suitable for large-scale production.

Findings

Successful fabrication of fiber-based solar cells.

Demonstrated electrical functionality of the devices.

Compatible with roll-to-roll manufacturing processes.

Abstract

Wearable electronics and smart textiles are growing fields in the cause to integrate modern communication and computing tools into clothing instead of carrying around smart phones and tablets. Naturally, this also requires power sources to be integrated in textiles. In this paper, a proof-of-concept is presented in form of a photovoltaic cell based on a commercially available viscose fiber. This has been realized using a silver nanowire network around the viscose fiber to establish electrical contact and a photoactive coating using the standard workhorse among organic thin film solar cells, a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). Structure and performance of single fiber devices demonstrate their feasibility and functionality. The applied materials and methods are compatible to solution processing therewith qualifying for potential roll-to-roll large-scale production.