SBIR Phase I: New Fullerene-based Electron Acceptor Materials for High Efficiency Polymer Solar Cells

该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在通过设计和合成新的受体材料来证明有机光催化剂（OPV）的10%能量转换效率。 基于聚合物的OPV技术是清洁和负担得起的能源生产的理想选择，因为它的低成本和无毒的过程。 目前，OPV的最佳能量转换效率约为8%，远低于其无机对应物。需要进一步开发供体聚合物和受体以持续提高OPV效率。为了获得更高的能量转换效率，需要具有高载流子迁移率和适当能级的受主材料。本项目将设计合成新型电子受体材料和环境友好溶剂。器件结构和聚合物薄膜形貌的优化将被进行。该项目的更广泛/商业影响将是提供低成本、灵活且易于部署的高效OPV的潜力。 OPV可用于便携式电子产品、建筑集成光电子器件、智能织物、传感器和其他应用。OPV也有可能挑战目前作为便携式电源的电池技术，并限制电池中有毒材料的使用。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to demonstrate 10% energy conversion efficiency for Organic Photovoltaics (OPVs) through the design and synthesis of new acceptor materials. Polymer-based OPV technology is ideal for clean and affordable energy generation because of its low-cost and non-toxic processes. Currently, the best energy conversion efficiency of OPV is about 8%, which is much lower than their inorganic counterparts. Further development of both donor polymers and acceptors is required to continuously improve OPV efficiencies. Acceptor materials with high carrier mobility and appropriate energy levels are needed to achieve higher energy conversion efficiencies. In this project, new electron acceptor materials and environmentally-friendly solvents will be designed and synthesized. The optimization of device structure and polymer film morphology will be conducted. The broader/commercial impact of this project will be the potential to offer high- efficiency OPVs that are low-cost, flexible, and easily deployable. OPVs can be used in portable electronics, building integrated photovoltaics, smart fabrics, sensors and other applications. OPVs also have the potential to challenge the current battery technology as portable power source and limit the use of toxic materials used in batteries.