Photovoltaic effect in single-layer organic solar cell devices fabricated with two new imidazolin-5-one molecules

Organic solar cells were fabricated with two new imidazolin-5-one molecules as active layers. The use of imidazolin-5-ones, derivatives of a biomolecule chromophore, for photovoltaic applications is particularly attractive due to its biodegradable nature and tunable properties. Single-layer devices with two analogues of imidazolin-5-ones were prepared and characterized. Devices fabricated with one of the molecules as the active layer showed a maximum Jsc of 0.52 μA cm−2 and Voc of 0.68 V at an incident power of 20.32 mW cm−2, while the other set of devices showed a maximum Jsc of 0.63 μA cm−2 and Voc of 0.57 V at the same incident power.