SOLAR: Integrated Electro-Photonic Development of Polymer Solar Cells

技术概述：该太阳能研究奖由数学和物理科学理事会的化学、材料研究和数学科学部共同资助。北卡罗来纳大学（University of North Carolina）化学、物理和应用数学小组的合作将探索体积异质结聚合物太阳能电池的局限性，这种电池已被确定为经济且易于制造。一个跨学科的团队将设计、制造和优化光子晶体太阳能电池，专门解决聚合物光伏材料的不同长度尺度，从而面对太阳能电池技术的主要挑战：效率。目标是同时实现有效的光子吸收和有效的载流子提取，但不幸的是，这两个过程有相反的要求。有效的光吸收需要更厚的组件，而载流子传输总是受益于更薄的组件，这种二分法是效率/成本难题的核心，使太阳能相对于化石燃料昂贵。UNC方法基于光子晶体可能实现的先进光学控制，通过纳米结构的光子排列实现有效的光捕获，同时显着减少载流子到达接触点所需的有效路径。将应用数学组件集成到团队中，将使光子晶体设计和载流子提取途径的严格和同步优化成为可能。此外，通过一项名为PRINT （Pattern Replication In nonwet Templates）的技术，优化的纳米结构将可扩展到大的面积尺寸，这项技术是教堂山大学（Chapel Hill）率先在卷对卷纳米成型方面取得的最新突破。非技术总结：聚合物太阳能电池具有制造简单和经济等明显优势，但要与成本更低的化石燃料竞争，它们必须达到更高的效率。北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校的一个合作研究小组将使用跨学科的方法来优化一种新型光子晶体太阳能电池。灵感来自大自然自己的设计，设计体现在美丽的彩虹色矿物，宝石，昆虫和蝴蝶光子晶体增强光的吸收，并有望提高太阳能电池的效率。北卡罗来纳大学三个学科（应用数学、化学和物理）的非正统联盟将利用严格的数学建模来优化光子晶体太阳能电池的设计和制造。此外，这种由数学家、化学家和物理学家共同致力于聚合物太阳能电池效率这一具有挑战性的问题的非典型结合，将为本科生和研究生提供一个独特的教育环境，在这个环境中，不同背景的力量在解决复杂的跨学科问题的方法中得到强调。

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:This award on solar energy research is co-funded by the Divisions of Chemistry, Materials Research, and Mathematical Sciences of the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences. A collaboration of chemistry, physics, and applied mathematics groups at the University of North Carolina will explore the limitations of bulk-heterojunction polymer solar cells, which have been identified as economical and easy to manufacture. An interdisciplinary team will design, fabricate, and optimize photonic crystal solar cells that specifically address the disparate length scales in polymer photovoltaic materials, thereby confronting the major challenge in solar cell technology: efficiency. The aim is to achieve simultaneously an efficient absorption of photons with effective carrier extraction, but unfortunately the two processes have opposing requirements. Efficient absorption of light calls for thicker modules whereas carrier transport always benefits from thinner ones, and this dichotomy is at the heart of an efficiency/cost conundrum that has kept solar energy expensive relative to fossil fuels. The UNC approach, based on the advanced optical control possible with photonic crystals, enables efficient light capture by a photonic arrangement of nanostructures while significantly reducing the effective path carriers need to travel to reach contacts. Integrating an applied mathematics component into the team will enable rigorous and simultaneous optimization of both photonic crystal designs and carrier extraction pathways. Moreover, the optimized nanostructures will be scalable to large areal dimensions via a technique called PRINT (Pattern Replication In Nonwetting Templates), a recent breakthrough in roll-to-roll nanomolding pioneered in Chapel Hill. NONTECHNICAL SUMMARY:Polymer solar cells have demonstrable advantages such as ease and economy of fabrication, but to compete with the lower cost of fossil fuels they must attain higher efficiencies. A collaborative group of researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will use an interdisciplinary approach to optimize a novel type of photonic-crystal solar cell. Inspired by nature's own design, a design manifested in the beautiful iridescent colors of minerals, gems, insects, and butterflies photonic crystals enhance the absorption of light and are expected to increase solar cell efficiency. The unorthodox alliance of three disciplines at UNC (applied mathematics, chemistry and physics) will leverage rigorous mathematical modeling to optimize the design and fabrication of photonic crystal solar cells. Moreover, this atypical conjunction of a mathematician, a chemist and a physicist working together on the challenging problem of polymer solar cell efficiency will provide a unique educational environment for undergraduate and graduate students, one wherein the power of a diversity of backgrounds is emphasized in approaches to complex, interdisciplinary problems.