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

EARLY概念探索性研究赠款（EAGER）赠款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物提供资金。 这些材料和结构的目标是在薄膜有机光生伏打中使用，该技术可以使廉价的、灵活的光伏模块的部署能够用于广泛的应用。 在这个项目中，具有低溶解度但有利的光吸收性能的单体将被电聚合以形成50-300 nm的膜。 可溶性单体的电沉积可以诱导垂直于电极表面的高π-π堆叠顺序，这为薄的光吸收膜产生有利的分子排列。 这些薄膜将被询问其光学和电荷传输性能，并将开发加工-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造。 多孔碳纳米管垫将被电沉积的聚合物浸渍以产生供体-受体组装体。 纳米管可以通过表面功能化来调节聚合物电子给体和纳米管电子受体之间的能级差，以实现相之间的有效电荷转移，这是有机光伏材料操作中的关键步骤，如果成功，本研究的结果将导致有机光伏活性层加工的改进和对电聚合聚合物的光学和电学性质的更深入的理解。 这项工作的主要目标是确定光伏活性层新加工方法的潜力，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，并扩大可能的有机光伏器件的材料集。 这项工作也将有助于制造光电薄膜的其他应用，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.