Designing spirobifullerene core based three-dimensional cross shape acceptor materials with promising photovoltaic properties for high-efficiency organic solar cells

The development of organic electron acceptor materials is one of the key factors for realizing high-performance organic solar cells (OSCs). Nonfullerene electron acceptors, compared to traditional fullerene acceptor materials, have gained much impetus owing to their better optoelectronic tunabilities and lower cost, as well as higher stability. Therefore, 5 three-dimensional (3D) cross-shaped acceptor materials having a spirobifullerene core flanked with 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole are designed from a recently synthesized highly efficient acceptor molecule SF(BR) ₄ and are investigated in detail with regard to their use as acceptor molecules in OSCs. The density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations have been performed for the estimation of frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analysis, density of states analysis, reorganization energies of electron and hole, dipole moment, open-circuit voltage, photo-physical characteristics, and transition density matrix analysis. In addition, the structure-property relationship is studied, and the influence of end-capped acceptor modifications on photovoltaic, photo-physical, and electronic properties of newly selected molecules ( H1-H5 ) is calculated and compared with reference ( R ) acceptor molecule SF(BR) ₄ . The structural tailoring at terminals was found to effectively tune the FMO band gap, energy levels, absorption spectra, open-circuit voltage, reorganization energy, and binding energy value in selected molecules H1 to H5 . The 3D cross-shaped molecules H1 to H5 suppress the intermolecular aggregation in PTB7-Th blend, which leads to high efficiency of acceptor material H1 to H5 in OSCs. Consequently, better optoelectronic properties are achieved from designed molecules H1 to H5 . It is proposed that the conceptualized molecules are superior than highly efficient spirobifullerene core-based SF(BR) ₄ acceptor molecules and, thus, are recommended to experiments for future developments of highly efficient solar cells.     

Effect of branched alkyl side chains on the performance of thin‐film transistors and photovoltaic cells fabricated with isoindigo‐based conjugated polymers

New isoindigo and di(thienyl)ethylene‐containing π‐extended conjugated polymers with different branched side chains were synthesized to investigate their physical properties and device performance in thin‐film transistors and photovoltaic cells. 11‐Butyltricosane (S3) and 11‐heptyltricosane (S6) groups were used as side‐chain moieties tethered to isoindigo units. The linking groups between the polymer backbone and bifurcation point in the branched side chain differ in the two polymers (i.e., PIDTE‐S3 and PIDTE‐S6 ). The polymers bearing S6 side chains showed much better charge transport behavior than those with S3 side chains. Thermally annealed PIDTE‐S6 film exhibited an outstanding hole mobility of 4.07 cm² V^?1 s^?1 under ambient conditions. Furthermore, bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic cells made from a blend film of PIDTE‐S3 and (6,6)‐phenyl C61‐butyric acid methyl ester demonstrated promising device performance with a power conversion efficiency in the range of 4.9–5.0%. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 2015 , 53, 1226–1234     

Development of low concentrated solar photovoltaic system with lead acid battery as storage device

Energy storage system powered by renewable energies is a viable option to meet energy requirement without addition of carbon footprints to the environment. This study involves development of theoretical and computational models for a solar photovoltaic (PV) system coupled with a lead acid battery. The study commenced with selection of most appropriate lead acid battery and PV system for installation in a representative location in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Various technical and economic parameters were assessed and calculated by computational approach. The optimized lead acid battery was integrated with low concentration solar PV panels (CPV) followed by a feasibility study. Theoretical model was developed for the integrated system to calculate various parameters of the CPV and lead acid battery. Technical and economic assessment of this coupled unit was calculated using a theoretical approach. The developed model was then subjected to computational approach for verification and validation analysis of the integrated system. The detailed assessment of batteries and integrated system show the applicability of this system in Riyadh region. The research will be extended to develop energy storage systems for remote areas using lead acid batteries.     

Microwave‐assisted polycondensation of 4‐octylaniline with dibromoarylene

The Pd‐catalyzed polycondensation of 4‐octylaniline with various dibromoarylenes was carried out under microwave heating. Microwave heating led to a decrease in the reaction time and an increase in the molecular weight of the polymers as compared to conventional heating. Microwave heating also allowed the catalyst loading to be reduced to 1 mol %, yielding polymerization results that were comparable to those under conventional heating and 5 mol % catalyst. Investigations regarding field‐effect transistors and organic photovoltaic cells using the obtained poly(arylamine) with azobenzene units revealed that increasing the molecular weight of the polymer led to improved device performance, including hole mobility and power conversion efficiency. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 536–542     

脉冲电场测试中的激光供电技术

为解决脉冲电场测试系统中的供电问题，设计了一套激光光纤供电系统，该系统由激光器、多模光纤及光电池构成。重点研究了激光器与光纤的耦合问题，设计了透镜系统对激光器输出光束进行准直和压缩。通过MOCVD法研制了GaAs光电池，并制作了椭球形"光伏眼"来提高光电转换效率。仿真和实验表明:采用透镜耦合时，激光器与光纤的耦合效率可达80%以上，远远高于直接耦合时的16%，改进后的"光伏眼"耦合效率相比直接耦合时提高了54.5%，激光供电系统的转化效率在40%以上。该系统的研制为解决脉冲电场的供电问题提供了一种方案。     

导电聚苯胺线膜修饰ZnO纳米棒阵列的可控制备及其紫外探测性能

基于p-n结的光生伏特效应可构筑性能优异的UV探测器,本文采用水热法可控制备竖直排列的氧化锌纳米棒阵列(n型ZnO-NRs),利用原位聚合法在ZnO-NRs表面上修饰p型聚苯胺线膜(PANI-NWs),再组装成ZnO-NRs与ZnO-NRs/PANI-NWs紫外探测器。通过扫描电镜(SEM)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)、紫外可见漫反射(UV-Vis)光谱表征样品的形貌、结构与光学性质。并通过电化学工作站测定电流-时间(I-t)和电流电压(I-V)曲线,表征其光响应性能。结果表明,制备的ZnO-NRs/PANI-NWs材料阵列排列整齐,界面接触良好,孔隙均匀。ZnO-NRs/PANI-NWs探测器在检测365 nm紫外光时,光电流为2.73×10^-4 A;检测254 nm紫外光时,光电流为1.44×10^-4 A。其光电流为ZnO-NRs探测器的4~10倍,ZnO-NRs和PANI-NWs之间形成的p-n结增强了光电导。用ZnO-NRs/PANI-NWs材料组装成的UV探测器体现出稳定性好,响应速度快,恢复时间短,电流增益高等优点,为开发高性能紫外光电探测器提供数据支撑。     

Hard uncertainties in multiobjective layout optimization of photovoltaic power plants

This paper describes how to treat hard uncertainties defined by so-called uncertainty maps in multiobjective optimization problems. For the uncertainty map being set-valued, a Taylor formula is shown under appropriate assumptions. The hard uncertainties are modeled using parametric set optimization problems for which a scalarization result is given. The presented new approach for the solution of multiobjective optimization problems with hard uncertainties is then applied to the layout optimization of photovoltaic power plants. Since good weather forecasts are difficult to obtain for future years, weather data are really hard uncertainties arising in the planning process. Numerical results are presented for a real-world problem on the Galapagos island Isabela.     

Polarization-enhanced bulk photovoltaic effect of BiFeO3 epitaxial film under standard solar illumination

In this Letter, we report the polarization-enhanced bulk photovoltaic effect (BPV) in pristine BiFeO₃ (BFO) epitaxial film under standard 1 sun AM 1.5 G illumination. High-quality epitaxial BFO films are grown on (001)-oriented niobium doped-SrTiO₃ substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The best BFO film based photovoltaic device achieves a power conversion efficiency of 0.0062% under standard illumination. Besides, it is found that the number of bipolar pulses plays a key role in improving the short-circuit current density and open-circuit voltage. These results are beneficial for further understanding of physical origin of the photovoltaic properties in ferroelectric oxides.     

Suppressing the environmental dependence of the open‐circuit voltage in inverted polymer solar cells through a radical polymer anodic modifier

Developing stable, readily‐synthesized, and solution‐processable transparent conducting polymers for interfacial modifying layers in organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices has become of great importance. Here, the radical polymer, poly(2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidinyloxy methacrylate (PTMA), is shown to not affect the absorption of the well‐studied poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]‐phenyl‐C₆₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) active layer when incorporated into inverted OPV devices, as it is highly transparent in the visible spectrum due to the non‐conjugated nature of the PTMA backbone. The inclusion of this radical polymer as an anode‐modifying layer enhanced the open‐circuit voltage and short‐circuit current density values over devices that did not contain an anodic modifier. Importantly, devices fabricated with the PTMA interlayer had performance metrics that were time‐independent over the entire course of multiples days of testing after exposing the OPV devices to ambient conditions. Furthermore, these high performance values were independent of the metal used as the top electrode contact in the inverted OPV devices. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 311–316     

聚合物太阳能电池材料的研究进展

有机光伏技术为太阳能的有效利用提供了一条重要途径。有机太阳能电池因制造成本低廉、材料质量轻、加工性能好、易于携带等优势而备受关注。提高有机太阳能电池的光电转换效率是目前乃至未来的研究重点。设计和合成适合的窄带隙的共轭聚合物是提高有机太阳能电池光电转化效率的核心。综述了近年来基于窄带隙的共轭聚合物的太阳能电池材料的设计、制备和器件性能研究进展,探讨了目前存在的亟待解决的关键基础问题和未来发展方向。