Construction of High Performance Organic Solar Cells using Custom Made pi-Conjugated Polymers and Molecules

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This project will advance organic solar cell technology through a synergistic academic and industrial**collaboration between Professor Gregory Welch and Brilliant Matters. Organic solar cells are a promising**energy conversion technology that utilize sustainable organic materials to converting sunlight energy into**electricity. The organic materials are highly soluble in organic solvents which allows for room temperature**solution deposition. This enables the fabrication of solar cell devices onto a range of substrates/surfaces**including foils and plastic films that are lightweight and flexible. In addition, these solar cells can be color**tuned and made semi-transparent, thus the type and amount of transmitted light can be finely adjusted. Such**features open up new avenues for the application of solar cells from solar windows to lightweight portable**personal power. While promising this technology largely remains an academic curiosity with demonstration**modules often priced out of competition. Materials innovation is needed to improve performance,**sustainability, and dramatically reduce costs. Brilliant Matters, a Canadian based fine chemicals company has**developed a patented method to synthesize high performance polymers via cost-effective and atom-economical**methods for use in organic solar cells. Combined with Professor Welch's expertise in organic solar cell device**fabrication and optimization and newly disclosed photoactive dyes, this project will attempt to use Brilliant**Matters new polymers to deliver a cost-competitive solar cell technology.