Indene-fullerene Bisadduct in Organic Photovoltaics
Open Access
Author:
Torhan, Sarah Ann
Area of Honors:
Chemical Engineering
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Dr. Enrique Daniel Gomez, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Enrique Daniel Gomez, Thesis Honors Advisor Andrew Zydney, Faculty Reader
Keywords:
Organic photovoltaics solar cells ICBA PCBM
Abstract:
To increase the efficiency of organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices, a new material for the polymer active layer was investigated. Using a standard bulk heterojunction polymer solar cell consisting of an indium tin oxide (ITO) anode, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) doping layer, Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) donor material in the active layer, and an aluminum cathode, the acceptor material in the active layer was modified from the most commonly used [6,6]-phenyl-C-61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). Indene-C60 bisadduct (ICBA) was synthesized to compare device performance to that of PCBM. The addition of electron withdrawing groups (EWGs) such as bromine to ICBA was also evaluated to further study their effect on OPV efficiency. The synthesis mechanisms of ICBA and bromo-ICBA were optimized in terms of temperature (180°C; 230°C), nitrogen purge pressure (0.4 bar; 0.4 bar), and reaction time (>24 hours) in relation to yield (33%-37% ICBA; 22-28% bromo-ICBA) and material degradation. For ICBA, an overall OPV cell efficiency of 3.87% was achieved when tested in the Solar Simulator.
