Charge Transfer States in Organic Donor-Acceptor Solar Cells

• For an efficient conversion of photons to electrons by organic materials used for photovoltaic applications, the presence of a material interface between an electron-donating and electron-accepting material is crucial. This chapter deals with the interfacial charge transfer states formed at such interfaces under solar illumination. Absorption of long-wavelength light, with energy lower than the optical gap of both donor and acceptor results in the direct formation of these charge transfer states. Decay of CT states to the ground state will result in weak light emission. Both CT absorption and emission will be linked to photovoltaic performance. The role of the CT state in determining the open-circuit voltage is discussed in detail. We will also elaborate on the efficiency of dissociation and photocurrent generation from thermally relaxed CT states. Based on thermodynamical considerations and in the absence of nonradiative recombination, upper limits for the efficiency of organic solar cells based on donor–acceptor interfaces are derived and possible improvements and future research directions are indicated.

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