EAGER: Electropolymerized Layers with Tuned Light Absorption and Charge Transport Properties

这项早期概念的探索性研究补助金(AGERGE)为开发电聚合光吸收层和半导体聚合物与功能化碳纳米管之间的电荷转移复合体提供了资金。这些材料和结构的目标是用于薄膜有机光伏，这项技术可以为广泛的应用部署廉价、灵活的光伏组件。在这个项目中，具有低溶解度但具有良好光吸收性能的单体将被电聚合以形成50-300 nm的薄膜。可溶单体的电沉积可以诱导垂直于电极表面的高pi-pi堆积顺序，从而为薄的光吸收膜创造有利的分子取向。将对薄膜的光学和电荷传输特性进行询问，并将建立工艺-结构-性能关系，以指导具有广谱光吸收和高电荷迁移率的高性能薄膜的制备。多孔碳纳米管垫将被电沉积聚合物浸渍，以创建供体-受体组件。纳米管可能被表面功能化，以调节聚合物电子给体和纳米管电子受体之间的能级差异，以实现相之间的有效电荷转移，这是有机光伏操作中的关键步骤。如果成功，这一研究结果将有助于改进有机光伏有源层工艺，并加深对电聚合聚合物的光学和电学性质的理解。这项工作的主要目标是确定一种新的光伏有源层加工方法的潜力，并测量这些材料的关键光吸收和电荷传输属性。确定工艺参数和关键材料性能以实现这项工作的目标，将有助于降低成本，拓宽有机光伏器件的可能材料集。这项工作还将有助于制造用于其他应用的光电薄膜，如聚合物电子。

This EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) grant provides funding for the development of electropolymerized light absorbing layers and charge transfer complexes between semi-conducting polymers and functionalized carbon nanotubes. These materials and structures are targeted towards use in thin-film organic photovoltaics, a technology that may enable deployment of inexpensive, flexible photovoltaic modules for a wide range of applications. In this project, monomers with low solubility but advantageous light absorption properties will be electropolymerized to form 50-300 nm films. Electrodeposition of soluble monomers can induce high pi-pi stacking order normal to the electrode surface which creates favorable molecular alignment for thin, light-absorbing films. The films will be interrogated for their optical and charge transport properties and processing-structure-property relationships will be developed to guide the fabrication of high performance films that have broad-spectrum light absorption and high charge mobility. Porous carbon nanotube mats will be impregnated with electrodeposited polymer to create donor-acceptor assemblies. The nanotubes may be surface-functionalized to tune the energy level differences between the polymer electron donor and nanotube electron acceptor for efficient charge transfer between phases, a critical step in the operation of organic photovoltaics.If successful, the results of this research will lead to improvements in organic photovoltaic active layer processing and a deeper understanding of the optical and electrical properties of electropolymerized polymers. The primary goal of this work is to determine the potential of a new processing method for photovoltaic active layers and to measure the key light absorption and charge transport attributes of these materials. Determining the process parameters and critical materials properties to achieve the objectives of this work will help to reduce the cost and widen the possible materials set for organic photovoltaic devices. The work will also contribute to fabrication of optoelectronic thin films for other applications such as polymer electronics.