Development of organic solar cells using sulfonated-based polymers as active layers in bulk heterojunction de

Constant increases in population have created greater demands for energy. Approximately 80% of the energy is currently provided by fossil fuels, which is a significant source of carbon dioxide emissions that worsen climatic conditions. Solar energy is a clean and sustainable energy source that compared to the current consumption on earth, the sun adequately meets our utilization effortlessly. A direct use of solar energy is with the photovoltaic effect. Nowadays, the third-generation solar cells are being studied and have a great potential to be commercialized. Previous studies on organic solar cells (OSC) devices focuses on the active layer comprised of a donor and acceptor materials. Although new polymers have been developed to improve the photovoltaic properties of OSC devices, there is still much room for improvement in terms of efficiency. Here, the control of phase separation between the two copolymers that comprise the photoactive layer has a great impact on the photovoltaic performance. In this study the goal is to assess the effect of annealing temperature on active layer thin film comprised of sulfonated poly(styrene)-poly(2-ethoxyethyl methacrylate)-poly(styrene) (PS-PEEM-PS) and the acceptor material PC61BM. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) will be used to monitor the film morphology. Optimizing the nanostructure of bulk heterojunction blend films via thermal annealing will allow to effectively produce more excitons thus enhancing the photovoltaic properties.

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