Project R-15360

All colors of the 'rainbow' – Tuning the gap of push-pull conjugated polymers to enhance organic solar cell performance (Research)

Access to affordable and clean energy is one of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Solar energy is an obvious candidate because of its abundance and global character. Different types of photovoltaic technologies have been developed to convert sunlight into electricity. Organic photovoltaics (OPV) have an enormous potential for low-cost, large-area, energy-efficient production but have struggled with skepticism – mainly related to their low efficiency and stability – for a long time. However, the efficiency has recently increased spectacularly, while the differentiated attributes of OPV enable commercial viability for applications such as building-integrated, indoor, and (semi)transparent photovoltaics. On top of that, OPV has clear benefits in terms of sustainability, with the lowest possible carbon footprint, which makes it more future-proof than any of the competing technologies. To give OPV the final push toward market uptake, this project focuses on the innovative concept of 'rainbow' organic solar cells, based on a lateral multijunction configuration in which different subcells with varying bandgaps sit next to each other. Proof of concept studies have shown the outstanding potential of this technology to achieve unprecedented device efficiencies once the materials for the individual subcells are fully optimized. This challenge is addressed in this Ph.D. project by the rational design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel wide and narrow-gap pushpull donor polymers.

01 November 2024 - 31 October 2028