Organic semiconductors: A versatile next‐generation photovoltaics technology

Abstract There has been rapid and continuous development in organic semiconductors for photovoltaics over the past decade, and power conversion efficiencies ( PCEs ) of nearly 21 % have already been achieved. Organic semiconductors not only offer competitive PCEs but also semitransparency, color tunability, lightweight, solution‐processability, mechanical stretchability, synthetic flexibility, and most importantly, biocompatibility. This combination of properties opens up a range of unconventional applications beyond traditional solar farms, which include building‐integrated installations, smart windows, agrivoltaics, indoor photovoltaics, wearable electronics, and thermoregulatory devices. Hence, initial impressions toward commercial feasibility that are conventionally based on traditional photovoltaic applications could be misleading. This review highlights that organic semiconductors may have already surpassed existing photovoltaic materials in certain types of utilization. Accordingly, the core ideas of emerging unconventional photovoltaic applications, their latest developments, current challenges, and key performance factors beyond PCEs are covered herein. Overall, this mini‐review provides practical perspectives, driving more research attention toward other more up‐to‐date photovoltaic applications with modern technologies and architectural motifs.