Ag Nanowires Embedded ZnO for Semitransparent Organic Solar Cells with 13.76% Efficiency and 19.09% Average Visible Transmittance

In recent years, semitransparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) receive more and more attention due to their applications in building-integrated photovoltaics. There is a complicated trade-off between the average visible transmittance (AVT) and the power conversion efficiency (PCE), which determine the overall light utilization efficiency (LUE) of ST-OSCs. In this work, the ST-OSCs are fabricated using ZnO as the buffer layer between an ultrathin metal electrode and an active layer of PM6:Y7. Moreover, Ag nanowires (Ag NWs) are embedded into ZnO film to increase the conductivity without serious loss of AVT. The LUE improves to 2.63% with a PCE of 13.76% and an AVT of 19.09% for ST-OSC with modification. Significant enhancement of the short-circuit current density and electrical property of the device is attributed to the excellent conductivity, the scattering effect, and the surface plasmon resonance of Ag NWs. This study provides an efficient strategy to fabricate high-performance ST-OSCs with high LUE.