Chemistry Weekly Seminar - Chase Radford, PhD Candidate

Title

Molecular and Engineering Control of Organic Solar Cell Morphology

Abstract

Organic solar cells require an intimate mixture of a donor and acceptor semiconductor to function. This makes it crucial to properly control the mixing, phase separation, and purity (collectively the morphology) of the blend of donor and acceptor. A new class of acceptors (non-fullerene acceptors) has recently led to a renaissance for the field; we now need to understand their role in the morphology of the solar cell. This work will present how the molecular structure of an acceptor can drastically change its performance in an organic solar cell, as well as ways to fine-tune the morphology after device fabrication. This presentation will provide a structural and mechanistic understanding of the interactions between donor and acceptor to optimize the morphology of an organic solar cell.