SOLAR: Integrated Electro-Photonic Development of Polymer Solar Cells

太阳能：聚合物太阳能电池的集成电光开发

• 批准号: 0934433
• 负责人: Edward Samulski
• 金额: $ 161.62万
• 依托单位: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-08-15 至 2014-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0934433&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SOLAR; Integrated; Electro; Photonic; Development

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:This award on solar energy research is co-funded by the Divisions of Chemistry, Materials Research, and Mathematical Sciences of the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences. A collaboration of chemistry, physics, and applied mathematics groups at the University of North Carolina will explore the limitations of bulk-heterojunction polymer solar cells, which have been identified as economical and easy to manufacture. An interdisciplinary team will design, fabricate, and optimize photonic crystal solar cells that specifically address the disparate length scales in polymer photovoltaic materials, thereby confronting the major challenge in solar cell technology: efficiency. The aim is to achieve simultaneously an efficient absorption of photons with effective carrier extraction, but unfortunately the two processes have opposing requirements. Efficient absorption of light calls for thicker modules whereas carrier transport always benefits from thinner ones, and this dichotomy is at the heart of an efficiency/cost conundrum that has kept solar energy expensive relative to fossil fuels. The UNC approach, based on the advanced optical control possible with photonic crystals, enables efficient light capture by a photonic arrangement of nanostructures while significantly reducing the effective path carriers need to travel to reach contacts. Integrating an applied mathematics component into the team will enable rigorous and simultaneous optimization of both photonic crystal designs and carrier extraction pathways. Moreover, the optimized nanostructures will be scalable to large areal dimensions via a technique called PRINT (Pattern Replication In Nonwetting Templates), a recent breakthrough in roll-to-roll nanomolding pioneered in Chapel Hill. NONTECHNICAL SUMMARY:Polymer solar cells have demonstrable advantages such as ease and economy of fabrication, but to compete with the lower cost of fossil fuels they must attain higher efficiencies. A collaborative group of researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will use an interdisciplinary approach to optimize a novel type of photonic-crystal solar cell. Inspired by nature's own design, a design manifested in the beautiful iridescent colors of minerals, gems, insects, and butterflies photonic crystals enhance the absorption of light and are expected to increase solar cell efficiency. The unorthodox alliance of three disciplines at UNC (applied mathematics, chemistry and physics) will leverage rigorous mathematical modeling to optimize the design and fabrication of photonic crystal solar cells. Moreover, this atypical conjunction of a mathematician, a chemist and a physicist working together on the challenging problem of polymer solar cell efficiency will provide a unique educational environment for undergraduate and graduate students, one wherein the power of a diversity of backgrounds is emphasized in approaches to complex, interdisciplinary problems.

技术摘要：该太阳能研究奖项由数学和物理科学理事会的化学、材料研究和数学科学部门共同资助。北卡罗来纳大学化学、物理和应用数学小组的合作将探索本体异质结聚合物太阳能电池的局限性，该电池已被认为经济且易于制造。一个跨学科团队将设计、制造和优化光子晶体太阳能电池，专门解决聚合物光伏材料中不同的长度尺度，从而应对太阳能电池技术的主要挑战：效率。目的是同时实现有效的光子吸收和有效的载流子提取，但不幸的是，这两个过程具有相反的要求。 有效吸收光需要更厚的模块，而载流子传输总是受益于更薄的模块，这种二分法是效率/成本难题的核心，使得太阳能相对于化石燃料昂贵。 UNC 方法基于光子晶体的先进光学控制，可以通过纳米结构的光子排列实现有效的光捕获，同时显着减少载流子到达触点所需的有效路径。 将应用数学组件集成到团队中将能够对光子晶体设计和载流子提取路径进行严格且同步的优化。 此外，优化的纳米结构将通过称为 PRINT（非润湿模板中的图案复制）的技术扩展到大面积尺寸，这是教堂山首创的卷对卷纳米成型的最新突破。非技术摘要：聚合物太阳能电池具有明显的优势，例如制造简便且经济，但为了与成本较低的化石燃料竞争，它们必须获得更高的效率。北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校的研究人员合作小组将采用跨学科方法来优化新型光子晶体太阳能电池。 受大自然自身设计的启发，该设计体现在矿物、宝石、昆虫和蝴蝶的美丽彩虹色中，光子晶体增强了光的吸收，有望提高太阳能电池的效率。 北卡罗来纳大学三个学科（应用数学、化学和物理）的非正统联盟将利用严格的数学模型来优化光子晶体太阳能电池的设计和制造。 此外，数学家、化学家和物理学家的这种非典型结合，共同研究聚合物太阳能电池效率这一具有挑战性的问题，将为本科生和研究生提供一个独特的教育环境，在这种环境中，在解决复杂的跨学科问题的方法中，强调了多样性背景的力量。