Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells: The Role of Processing in the Fabrication and Optimization of Plastic Solar Cells (Adv. Mater. 14-15/2009)

Alan Heeger and co‐workers report on page 1521 on the role of processing methodology in the fabrication and optimization of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) ‘plastic’ solar cells. Several techniques that have recently been used to optimize the BHJ nanomorphology are discussed and compared and some insights are given into the mechanisms behind these various techniques. The cover image depicts a multilayer solar cell ribbon along with the polymer, fullerene, and solvent additive, which were used to fabricate a low bandgap polymer solar cell with greater than 5% power conversion efficiency.