Abstract: Transparent UV-absorbing solar cells are promising for the applications of powering electrochromic windows that regulate the transmission of visible and near-infrared photons for natural lighting and heating purposes, respectively. Current technologies focus on using organic solar cells for the application due to their narrow excitonic absorption and tunable bandgaps. However, transparent organic solar cells have drawbacks including the stability issue and thickness-induced problems, such as low yield rate and limited power conversion efficiency. Disclosed herein is the co-deposition of two or more materials by thermal evaporation to make visibly transparent inorganic perovskite films. By tuning the halide compositions, the inorganic perovskite films show absorption range in UV and near-UV region, which is well-suited to the application. Its high conductivity and absorbance enable it to be around 400 nm thick for devices, which is critical to improve the yield rate and efficiency.

Abstract: Near-ultraviolet (NUV) absorbing compounds are described herein which, in some embodiments, provide enhanced optoelectronic properties and visible light transmittances when employed as organic electron donors in various photovoltaic architectures. Photovoltaic devices incorporating such NUV-absorbing compounds in the active layer are also described.