Abstract: Flexible organic solar cells (FOSCs) have garnered increasing attention owing to their lightweight design, mechanical flexibility, and low-temperature solution processability, demonstrating significant potential for applications in wearable electronics and distributed energy systems. As a key frontier topic in new energy materials and devices education, FOSCs remain underrepresented in current undergraduate laboratory curricula, failing to adequately address students’ learning needs for cutting-edge technologies and engineering practice. To bridge this gap, this study employs the fabrication and characterization of flexible organic solar cells as a pedagogical framework to develop a comprehensive experimental teaching module for undergraduates. Focusing on the structure–property relationships between flexible transparent electrodes and device performance, three representative electrode systems—PET/ITO, PET/AgNWs, and semi-embedded PI@AgNWs—are designed and comparatively investigated. Students are guided through a systematic workflow encompassing electrode fabrication and characterization, flexible device assembly, photovoltaic performance testing, and qualitative mechanical bending evaluation. Results indicate that the semi-embedded PI@AgNWs electrode substantially reduces surface roughness (with a root-mean-square roughness as low as 0.56 nm) while maintaining excellent conductivity, significantly improving device bending tolerance and operational stability. The experimental outcomes demonstrate high reproducibility and strong feasibility for instructional implementation. Through the integrated “fabrication-characterization-evaluation-demonstration” workflow, students gain deeper insights into the coupling effects of substrate, electrode, and device performance while enhancing their engineering practice skills, data analysis capabilities, and innovative thinking. This teaching reform offers a practical and transferable model for advancing research-oriented, engineering-focused, and comprehensive laboratory courses in new energy materials and devices.

Key words: Flexible organic solar cell, Flexible transparent electrode, Semi-embedded silver nanowire, Experimental education, Teaching reform