Conjugated Polymer-Based Ternary Blends

国际和平研究所名称：巴里·汤普森编号：1436875太阳代表着地球上最丰富的潜在无污染能源。基于导电有机聚合物的用于将光转换为电能的太阳能电池为可再生电力的生产提供了一种简单且潜在的低成本途径。然而，最近有机光伏(OPV)器件性能的提高只能通过增加器件设计和制造的复杂性来实现，这通常涉及多层。聚合物混合物有可能在提高太阳能转换效率的需要和保持设备制造的简单性和最终低成本之间取得平衡。该项目的目标是开发基于三种有机聚合物混合物或三元聚合物混合物的OPV设备。将合成一系列具有OPV器件所需电学性能的新型有机聚合物，作为这些三元共混物的组份。利用印刷技术将三元聚合物共混物制成单一薄膜。然后将对由这些薄膜制成的器件进行表征，以加深对三元混合物如何影响光伏性能的基本理解。这些三组分体系内的协同作用可以在保持由单一有机聚合物层制成的设备的简单性的同时，在设备性能方面提供独特的增强。该项目包括加州路德大学和南加州大学之间的合作教学和研究活动，其中包括联合开发一门课程，向非理科本科生教授能源在不断变化的世界中的重要性，并计划在夏季让本科生参与研究。通过丹麦技术大学的国际合作将提供研究生交流机会，重点是大面积、柔性聚合物太阳能电池。本项目的目标是对三元混合有机聚合物光伏(OPV)有一个基本的了解。Triary Blend OPV将单层器件的实用简单性与串联器件的性能潜力结合在一起。具体地说，基于富勒烯受体和两个具有互补电子性质的可混溶共轭聚合物给体的三元共混物被假设为相对于单一聚合物提供更高的太阳能转换效率。一系列具有电子和热力学性质的新型有机聚合物将被合成，作为这些三元共混物的组份。具体地说，模块合成将被用来产生具有规则变化的电子和物理相互作用的聚合物对。聚合物共混物的相容性将通过聚合物表面能来调节，聚合物-聚合物混合将被用来确定这一设计原则的极限。OPV装置将使用印刷技术制造三元聚合物共混薄膜。通过这种方法，研究将从根本上了解组件之间的物理和电子关系对三元混合太阳能电池性能和行为的影响，并建立确保协同电子功能的三元混合太阳能电池中最佳共轭聚合物组件的设计原则。该项目包括加州路德大学和南加州大学之间的合作教学和研究活动，其中包括联合开发一门课程，教育非理科本科生能源在不断变化的世界中的重要性，并计划让本科生参与研究。通过丹麦技术大学的国际合作将提供研究生交流机会，重点是大面积、柔性聚合物太阳能电池。

PI Name: Barry ThompsonNumber: 1436875The sun represents the most abundant potential source of pollution-free energy on earth. Solar cells for conversion of light to electricity based on electrically conductive organic polymers offer a simple and potentially low-cost route for renewable electricity production. However, recent increases in the performance of organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices have only been enabled by increasing the complexity of device design and fabrication, which often involves multiple layers. Polymer mixtures have the potential to balance the need for the increase solar energy conversion efficiency with the desire to maintain simplicity and ultimately low cost in device manufacture. The goal of this project is develop OPV devices based on mixtures of three organic polymers, or ternary polymer blends. A series of novel organic polymers with electronic properties desirable for OPV devices will be synthesized to serve as components for these ternary blends. Ternary polymer blends are made into a single thin film using printing techniques. Devices made from these thin films will then be characterized to develop a fundamental understanding of how the ternary blend affects photovoltaic performance. Synergistic interactions within these three-component systems may provide unique enhancements in device performance while maintaining the simplicity of a device made from a single organic polymer layer. The project includes cooperative teaching and research activities between California Lutheran University and the University of Southern California, which feature the joint development of a course to educate non-science undergraduate majors on the importance of energy in a changing world, and plans for involving undergraduates in the research during the summer. International collaborations through the Danish Technical University will provide graduate student exchange opportunities focusing on large area, flexible polymer solar cells. Technical DescriptionThis goal of this project is to develop a fundamental understanding of ternary blend organic polymer photovoltaics (OPV). Ternary blend OPV combines the practical simplicity of single-layer devices with the performance potential of tandem devices. Specifically, ternary blends based on a fullerene acceptor and two miscible conjugated polymer donors with complementary electronic properties are hypothesized to provide enhanced solar energy conversion efficiency relative to a single polymer. A series of novel organic polymers with electronic and thermodynamic properties desirable for OPV device performance and ease of fabrication will be synthesized to serve as components for these ternary blends. Specifically, modular synthesis will be used to generate pairs of polymers with regularly varying electronic and physical interactions. Polymer blend miscibility will be tuned via polymer surface energy, and polymer-polymer mixing will be used to determine the limits of this design principle. OPV devices will be fabricated using printing techniques to make thin films of ternary polymer blends. Through this approach, the research will gain fundamental understanding of the influence of physical and the electronic relationships between components on the performance and behavior of ternary blend solar cells, and establish design principles for optimal conjugated polymer components in ternary blend solar cells that ensure cooperative electronic function. The project includes cooperative teaching and research activities between California Lutheran University and the University of Southern California, which feature the joint development of a course to educate non-science undergraduate majors on the importance of energy in a changing world, and plans for involving undergraduates in the research. International collaborations through the Danish Technical University will provide graduate student exchange opportunities focusing on large area, flexible polymer solar cells.