Molecular Engineering at the Interface of Light and Electrical Charge for Organic Solar Cells.

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Our research program is focused on the molecular engineering of novel organic materials for organic solar cell application (OSC). Organic Solar Cells (OSCs) have immense potential to unlock the power of the sun through the cost-effective direct conversion of sunlight into electricity. Governments in many jurisdictions have had to provide substantial financial incentives to facilitate the adoption of silicon-based solar cells, but this will not be necessary for commercial OSCs, which will be inexpensive and hence broadly accessible. OSCs can be fabricated onto light pieces of flexible plastic to produce a standalone cell, whose availability would allow ubiquitous supplemental power generation. They can also be integrated into the outer casings of devices such as laptop computers, iPods, and iPads to provide active recharging. Limitations in available organic materials are hampering the commercial introduction of OSCs. In our group we use the techniques of crystal engineering to control the solid state arrangement of the organic materials which comprise the OSC. Such control at the nanometer length scale is critical if OSCs are to see application and commercialization as it is only at this length scale that we can engineer and optimize the critical parameters of charge conduction and power conversion efficiency. We propose to continue our focus on a class of materials known as boron subphthalocyanines (BsubPcs). BsubPcs have ideal intrinsic molecular properties for OSC application. What remains is the need to engineer them into forms which have high charge conduction and good power conversion efficiencies. To accomplish these objectives, students within the program are expected to study at the intersection of the traditional disciplines of chemical engineering, applied chemistry, materials science and engineering, organic and inorganic chemistry, polymer chemistry, and physical chemistry.