Jonathan Glicoes with Profs. Gavin A. Buxton & Philip L. Taylor

Polymer Solar Cells from Diblock Copolymers: A Computational Investigation of Self-assembled Architectures

Current silicon based solar cell technologies have proven to be inordinately expensive to manufacture relative to the power that they are capable of generating, however the demand for clean energy production remains high. In contrast, polymer solar cells may be produced cheaply, albeit at a significantly reduced photovoltaic efficiency. Comparatively modest gains in efficiency may push polymer solar cells into the realm of economic feasibility and potentially even supersede silicon based solutions. The aim of this research is to investigate the structure-property relations in diblock copolymer solar cells. This will be accomplished by computationally obtaining the morphology of semiconductor diblock copolymer thin films. Generated morphologies will then be utilized as input into a separate Monte Carlo model of the photovoltaic properties of the solar cell to determine the resultant photovoltaic efficiency. This research will serve as the foundation for future investigations that will seek to optimize photovoltaic generation with the terminal aim of predicting solar cell architectures which may significantly improve photovoltaic production in polymer based solar cells as a guide for future experimental inquiry.