Plasmonic Enhancement in Organic Photovoltaic and Optoelectronic Devices

Plasmonic enhancement exploits the resonant interaction between light and free electrons in metallic nanostructures to amplify optical absorption, scatter light into active layers and inject energetic carriers in organic devices. By integrating nanometals such as gold, silver or aluminium into the photoactive layer, interfacial buffer or transparent electrode, near‐field localisation and far‐field scattering extend the optical path length, while hot‐electron transfer can supplement photogenerated charge. These effects mitigate the inherent trade-off between thin films for efficient charge extraction and sufficient thickness for light harvesting. Advances in nanoparticle geometry, periodic nanomesh design and core–shell engineering have steadily raised power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of bulk‐heterojunction solar cells beyond 10 % and enhanced responsivity in organic photodetectors. The versatility of plasmonic strategies also underpins improvements in light‐emitting diodes and flexible optoelectronic platforms, pointing to scalable approaches for low-cost, high-performance renewable energy harvesting and display technologies.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Periodic gold nanomesh electrodes featuring hexagonally ordered nanoholes have emerged as transparent conductive replacements for indium tin oxide. By tuning the mesh periodicity, studies reveal an optimal balance between plasmonic light trapping and parasitic absorption, yielding devices with approximately 77 % of the reference efficiency while preserving high transparency. This work underscores the potential of sub-wavelength mesh design in flexible organic solar modules. In parallel, investigations of gold nanorods enveloped by ultrathin silica shells introduced at the interface between hole extraction layer and active polymer demonstrate that 2–3 nm SiO₂ shells maintain strong localised field enhancements with minimal damping. Devices incorporating these core–shell structures achieve short-circuit current densities above 21 mA cm⁻² and power conversion efficiencies approaching 9.6 %, illustrating the crucial role of precise nanoparticle shell control.

Plasmonic Enhancement in Organic Photovoltaic and Optoelectronic Devices publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in plasmonic enhancement in organic photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Localised surface plasmon resonance (LSPR): Collective oscillation of conduction electrons in a metallic nanoparticle excited by incident light, generating intense local electromagnetic fields.

Plasmonic nanomesh: A periodic metallic network with sub-wavelength apertures that sustains plasmon resonances to combine transparency with efficient light trapping.

Core–shell nanoparticle: A composite nanostructure comprising a metallic core and a dielectric shell, engineered to tune plasmonic response and mitigate non‐radiative losses.

Hole transport layer (HTL): An interfacial polymer or inorganic film that facilitates extraction and transport of positive charge carriers toward the electrode in organic devices.

Power conversion efficiency (PCE): The ratio of electrical power output from a photovoltaic device to the incident solar power input, expressed as a percentage.

References

1. Synergy Between Light Trapping and Charge Transport for Improved Collection of Photo‐Current. Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research (2024).
2. Enhancement of Power Conversion Efficiency of Non-Fullerene Organic Solar Cells Using Green Synthesized Au–Ag Nanoparticles. Polymers (2023).
3. Review of Organic–Inorganic Heterojunction Hybrid Solar Cells with Embedded Plasmonic Nanocrystals: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives. Energy & Fuels (2025).
4. Plasmonic nanomeshes: their ambivalent role as transparent electrodes in organic solar cells. Scientific Reports (2017).
5. Influence of SiO2 shell thickness on power conversion efficiency in plasmonic polymer solar cells with Au nanorod@SiO2 core-shell structures. Scientific Reports (2016).
6. Light-emitting diodes enhanced by localized surface plasmon resonance. Discover Nano (2011).