Molecular and Morphology Engineering of Non-Fullerene Organic Solar Cells

有机太阳能光伏电池是有前途的低成本、可扩展和可持续的基于太阳能的发电技术。 需要半导体材料的重大创新来创建基于有机光致发光的能量转换和能量存储设备。该项目旨在发现创造具有改进性能的有机半导体材料和设计更高效的有机太阳能电池所需的基础知识。该项目开发工程策略，以设计，合成和加工新材料，旨在提高它们如何吸收光，产生电荷，并通过薄膜和设备传输电荷。该项目还为培训未来的科学家和工程师提供了机会，包括STEM领域的妇女和代表性不足的少数民族，在半导体材料，光电器件和能源技术的跨学科领域。该项目还通过将研究成果纳入华盛顿大学教授的研究生和本科生课程，改进了课程。作为该项目的一部分，将为未来的美国化学学会或材料研究学会会议组织一次关于太阳能前沿研究的研讨会。参与该项目的研究人员还将参加由西雅图太平洋科学中心组织的一个项目，该项目侧重于可再生能源和太阳能技术。光伏器件通常是通过将p型（供体）半导体聚合物与电子传导（受体）富勒烯衍生物混合制成的。该项目研究了新的非富勒烯受体，与富勒烯受体相比，这些受体预计在化学、光化学和机械上更坚固，更经济，更容易大规模生产。该项目还涉及新的形态工程方法，用于理解和实现高性能非富勒烯有机太阳能电池。本论文的主要目标是：（1）设计、合成和表征一系列基于环戊二烯并喹喔啉的小分子非富勒烯受体材料;（2）设计、合成和表征具有最佳性能的新型无定形宽带隙p型半导体共聚物，以用于高性能太阳能电池;（3）研究了新型受体材料与给体聚合物共混物的形态、物理、电荷输运、电荷复合和光伏性能。 这些研究的结果将产生新的基本理解的光吸收和电荷传输的n型有机半导体，并将提供新的物理见解的电荷光生，运输，并收集在有机太阳能电池。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得的支持，通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

Organic solar photovoltaic cells are promising low cost, scalable, and sustainable solar energy based electrical power generation technologies. Major innovations in semiconductor materials are needed to create energy conversion and energy storage devices based upon organic photovoltaics. This project aims to discover fundamental knowledge needed for creating organic semiconductor materials with improved properties and for designing more efficient organic solar cells. The project develops engineering strategies to design, synthesize, and process new materials with the aim of enhancing how they absorb light, generate charge, and transport charge through thin films and in devices. The project also provides opportunities for training future scientists and engineers, including women and underrepresented minorities in STEM, in the interdisciplinary fields of semiconductor materials, optoelectronic devices, and energy technologies. The project also enables improvements to the curriculum by integration of research findings into the graduate and undergraduate courses taught at the University of Washington. As part of this project, a symposium on solar energy frontier research will be organized for a future American Chemical Society or Materials Research Society meeting. Researchers involved in this project also will participate in a program organized by the Pacific Science Center of Seattle focusing on renewable energy and solar technologies.Photovoltaic devices have generally been made by blending a p-type (donor) semiconducting polymer with an electron-conducting (acceptor) fullerene derivative. This project studies new non-fullerene acceptors that are expected to be more chemically, photochemically and mechanically rugged, more economical, and more readily manufactured on a large scale compared to their fullerene counterparts. The project also involves new morphology engineering approaches for understanding and achieving high performance non-fullerene organic solar cells. The following objectives are being pursued: (1) The design, synthesis, and characterization of a series of cyclopentaquinoxaline-based small-molecule, non-fullerene, acceptor materials; (2) The design, synthesis, and characterization of new amorphous wide bandgap p-type semiconducting copolymers with optimal properties suitable for high performance solar cells; and (3) The investigation of the morphology, photophysics, charge transport, charge recombination and photovoltaic properties of blends of the new acceptor materials with donor polymers. The results of these studies will generate new fundamental understanding of light absorption and charge transport in n-type organic semiconductors and will provide new physical insights into charge photogeneration, transport, and collection in organic solar cells.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.