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Mechanical Routes To Biocontinuous Conductive Polymer Networks For Solar Cell Applications, Erin Waterman
Mechanical Routes To Biocontinuous Conductive Polymer Networks For Solar Cell Applications, Erin Waterman
Honors Theses
We have successfully created the first example of a bicontinuous conductive polymer network for use in hybrid QD-polymer solar cells via a mechanochemical route. Heterometallic dicyanoaurate coordination polymers were used as intercalative hosts to promote in situ growth of emeraldine polyaniline (PANI), which provides electron conduction pathways within the active layer. Cu2+-excanged Laponite RD nanodiscs were used to direct the self-assembly of the bicontinuous polymer networks and nanomorphology within the nanocomposites. These PANI/Laponite coordination polymers were extensively characterized by scanning electron microscopy, attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy in order to probe polymer-nanoparticle and polymer-polymer interactions. …