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The interplay between structure, processing, and properties in organic photovoltaic devices: how to translate recent laboratory-scale developments to modules

  • Polymers/Soft Matter Prospective Article
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Abstract

The design of π-conjugated molecules and polymers has driven the increase in efficiency of bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic devices from <1% to over 12%. The pathways to generation of free charge carriers are still being uncovered. By focusing on blends of conjugated polymers with fullerenes, recent work has highlighted the impact of the design of donor–acceptor polymers on optoelectronic properties and phase-separated morphologies. This morphology of the active layer is largely controlled by processing conditions, such as use of processing additives. Developing a deep understanding of the impact of polymer chemistry and processing at the laboratory scale is key to translating the technology of organic photovoltaics from the research scale to large-area modules.

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Acknowledgments

This publication is based on the work supported in part by Grant No. N00014-14-1-0173 from the Office of Naval Research. The authors thank Dr. Bernard Kippelen for helpful discussions during the writing of this manuscript.

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  1. School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Caroline Grand & John R. Reynolds

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  1. Caroline Grand
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Grand, C., Reynolds, J.R. The interplay between structure, processing, and properties in organic photovoltaic devices: how to translate recent laboratory-scale developments to modules. MRS Communications 5, 155–167 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2015.24

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