Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Fabrication Conditions For Efficient Organic Photovoltaic Cells From Aqueous Dispersions Of Nanoparticles, Monojit Bag, Timothy S. Gehan, Lawrence A. Renna, Dana D. Algaier, Paulm M. Lahti, Dhandapani Venkataraman

Dhandapani Venkataraman

For environmentally friendly and cost-effective manufacturing of organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells, it is highly desirable to replace haloarenes with water as the active layer fabrication solvent. Replacing an organic solvent with water requires retooling the device fabrication steps. The optimization studies were conducted using poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as active layer materials. These materials were dispersed in water as blend and separate nanoparticles using the miniemulsion method. Topologies of the active layers were investigated using atomic force microscopy and electron microscopy techniques. We have identified two essential steps to fabricate efficient OPVs from aqueous …