Organic photovoltaic represents an emerging technology thanks to its ability to give flexible, light weight and large-area
devices, with low production cost by simple solution process or printing technologies. But these devices are known to
exhibit low resistance to the combined action of sunlight, oxygen and water. This paper is focused on the behaviour of
the active layer of the devices under illumination in the presence and absence of oxygen.
The monitoring of the evolution of the chemical structure of MDMO-PPV submitted to accelerated artificial ageing
permitted the elucidation of the mechanisms by which the polymer degrades. Extrapolation of the data to natural ageing
suggested that, if well protected from oxygen (encapsulation),
MDMO-PPV:PCBM based active layer is
photochemically stable for several years in use conditions. In addition the charge transfer between the two materials was
observed to remain efficient under exposure.
The study of P3HT:PCBM blends allowed to point out the Achilles heel of P3HT towards the impact of light. In
addition, P3HT:PCBM blends were shown to be much more stable under illumination than MDMO:PCBM blends.
Preliminary results devoted to the AFM monitoring of the morphological modifications of P3HT:PCBM blends under
the impact of light are also reported.
Carbazol-containing polymers were shown to be good reliefographic photosensitive substrates for holographic
registration. Holographic images with satisfactory properties were obtained with carbazolic copolymers containing
carbazolylethylmethacrylate and octylmethacrylate units and iodoform as sensitizer. The final goal of this study is to find
the best copolymer formulation ensuring large amount of data stored with a high transfer rate and an optimized lifetime
of the hologram and of the host polymer. It is then crucial to elucidate the involved photochemical mechanisms. We first
carried out irradiations at 405 nm (wavelength of the laser diode used for holographic recording) in order to follow the
photostructuration of the doped polymer. Spectroscopic analyses showed that the formation of a charge transfer complex
is observed and its increase of concentration in the polymer could be followed versus exposure time. We also focused
our attention on the durability of the hologram and of the polymeric matrix itself. Under irradiations representative of
natural ageing (λ>300 nm), we have shown that the complex is successively formed and destroyed and that the
photodegradation of the polymer matrix was also observed.
Though being much less efficient than silicon cells, organic solar cells exhibit a unique combination of interesting properties: low cost, flexibility, and the possibility of large surface coverage. Large progresses have been made over the last years using MDMO-PPV (Poly[2-methoxy-5-(3’,7’-dimethyloctyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene) reaching efficiencies of 2.9% and recently efficiencies over 3%, using poly(3-hexyl thiophene). A great deal of research however has still to be invested to improve the current state of the art. Among the main key-points to be addressed are namely the stability and lifetime of such devices.
We are currently working on bulk heterojunction solar cells made from MDMO-PPV and PCBM (methano-fullerene[6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester). Different batches of MDMO-PPV, originating from different synthesis modes (classical "Gilch" synthesis and "Sulphinyl" synthesis led by IMEC-IMOMEC) have been tested. Evolution of the power efficiency following continuous illumination (AM1.5, 80 mW.cm-2) was characterized under controlled atmosphere of nitrogen. In parallel, photodegradation studies are also investigated and electrical modeling is under way in order to get a better understanding of the relations between photochemical and electrical parameters of the diode that can be deduced from I/V curves.
Though being much less efficient than silicon cells, organic solar cells exhibit a unique combination of interesting properties: low cost, flexibility, and the possibility of large surface coverage. Large progresses have been made over the last years using MDMO-PPV (Poly[2-methoxy-5-(3’,7’-dimethyloctyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene) reaching efficiencies of 2.9% and recently efficiencies over 3%, using poly(3-hexyl thiophene). A great deal of research however has still to be invested to improve the current state of the art. Among the main key-points to be addressed are namely the stability and lifetime of such devices.
We are currently working on bulk heterojunction solar cells made from MDMO-PPV and PCBM (methano-fullerene[6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester). Different batches of MDMO-PPV, originating from different synthesis modes (classical "Gilch" synthesis and "Sulphinyl" synthesis led by IMEC-IMOMEC) have been tested. Evolution of the power efficiency following continuous illumination (AM1.5, 80 mW.cm-2) was characterized under controlled atmosphere of nitrogen. In parallel, photodegradation studies are also investigated and electrical modeling is under way in order to get a better understanding of the relations between photochemical and electrical parameters of the diode that can be deduced from I/V curves.
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