Optical and Electronic Properties of Organic Photovoltaic Wires and Fabrics

The characteristics of a power producing flexible wire based on organic photovoltaics (OPV) and the processes by which they are produced are described in this paper. A set of materials and coating formulations used on the electrode wires are very similar to those used in the development of two dimensional photovoltaic cells and modules. The active layer of the primary electrode wire comprises the bulk heterojunction-forming P3HT/PCBM (1:1 weight ratio) that has been extensively studied in planar cells. A second wire, which is wrapped around the coated, primary electrode wire, serves as the counter electrode. Ray tracing analysis indicates that light incident on the wires is focused by the cladding onto to the active layer, coated, primary electrode wire even when it is completely shadowed by the counter electrode. Furthermore, when the counter electrode is in a position that partially shadows the primary wire, a significant percentage of the light is reflected by the counter electrode onto the primary electrode.

Many hundreds of feet of OPV wire have been produced continuously for experimental purposes, and the process is capable of producing any length of PV wire desired. Efficiency values of a 200 foot spool of PV wire ranges from 2.79% to 3.27%.