A Study of the Life-span approximation of Organic Photovoltaic Cells through Accelerated Thermal Aging
Aarrush Chaturvedi
09/09/2026
Organic Photovoltaics (OPVs) are cheaper, more sustainable and easier to fabricate alternatives to traditional silicon-based photovoltaics. Regardless of significant strides in OPV research, major barriers to commercialization exist. A significant barrier is their sensitivity to environmental conditions causing smaller lifespans and decreased usability in domestic and commercial energy production when compared to silicon-based cells. This aging can be majorly attributed to the thermal degradation that is caused by morphological changes within the donor-acceptor material inside the cell, which is an integral part of its energy production mechanism. Techniques like T70 or T80 are traditionally used to calculate lifespans. These are reliable and accurate methods; however, they are also slow and costly. A quicker alternative is accelerated aging, which is reviewed and empirically evaluated for its effectiveness in determining the lifespan of an OPV through heating at 353K. It was hypothesized that the characteristics of the device will show degradation as the time of heating is increased at constant temperature. Several characteristics were tested at prolonged heating periods: Open circuit voltage (OCV), short-circuit current density (SCCD), fill factor (FF) and efficiency. FF and efficiency showed clear negative correlations and were used in extrapolation to evaluate the Equivalent Thermal Aging Time (ETAT): a comparative measure of thermal endurance. Using the prescribed methodology, ETAT70 values were calculated. Further research should focus on validating the methodology using long term operational aging. If validated, the methodology could prove useful in faster quality control, device optimization, materials screening etc., resulting in quicker development and industrialization.