Azomethine-based Donor Materials for Organic Solar Cells

Azomethine-based Donor Materials for Organic Solar Cells

Petrus, M.L.

Dingemans, T.J. (promotor)

Aerospace Engineering

Aerospace Structures and Materials

2014-12-09

Solution processable organic photovoltaics (OPVs) are attracting much attention because of their anticipated advantages such as low cost, flexibility, lightweight, and the potential to be produced on a large scale. The photoactive layer of OPVs consists of a blend of an electron donating and an electron accepting material. Over the last 20 years, a plethora of (record breaking) electron?donating materials have been reported, which are mostly synthesized via transition metal mediated aryl?aryl coupling reactions. These chemistries, however, make use of expensive metal catalysts, inert reaction conditions and require time?consuming product purification steps. In order to offer a more economic route towards OPVs we have explored novel conjugated azomethine?based (–N=CH–) donor materials and the initial results are presented in this thesis. The azomethine bond is isoelectronic to the vinyl bond (–CH=CH–) and displays similar optoelectronic and thermal properties. In addition, azomethines offer significant advantages over vinylenes as they can be prepared using Schiff base condensation chemistry under near ambient reaction conditions. Expensive catalysts are not required and water is the only by?product. The main objective of this research is to explore the use of azomethine?based donor materials in bulk heterojunction solar cells. The design and synthesis of azomethine?based polymers, (hyper?branched) oligomers, small?molecules (both linear and star?shaped) and their performance in photovoltaic devices will be presented in this thesis.

Azomethines
organic photovoltaics
solar cells
polymers
small-molecules

https://doi.org/10.4233/uuid:4d4fadce-d064-47b4-84fe-3fb15d76b696

9789462594432

Institutional Repository

doctoral thesis

(c) 2014 Petrus, M.L.