• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.38-42
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• 2014

The poly[(9,9-bis((6'-(N,N,N-trimethylammonium)hexyl)-2,7-fluorene)-alt-(9,9-bis(2-(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethyl)-9-fluorene)) dibromide (WPF-6-oxy-F)] and graphene oxide (GO) was blended and irradiated with gamma ray under ambient condition. This WPF-6-oxy-F-GO composite was investigated as a hole-transporting layer (HTL) in organic solar cells (OSCs). Compared with the pristine GO, the sheet resistance ($R_{sheet}$) of irradiated WPF-6-oxy-F-GO was decreased about 2 orders of magnitude. The reason for the decrease of $R_{sheet}$ is the effect of efficient ${\pi}-{\pi}$ packing resulted from the formation of C-N bond between WPF6-oxy-F and GO. As a result, the efficiency of OSCs was dramatically enhanced ~ 6.10% by introducing irradiated WPF-6-oxy-F-GO as a HTL. WPF-6-oxy-F-GO is a sufficient candidate for HTL to facilitate the low-cost and high efficiency OSCs.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.525-530
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• 2012

We present the results of a study of the polarizing photovoltaic (PV) effects in an aligned polymer bulk heterojuction PV layer. The fairly uniform in-plane uniaxial alignment of the PV layer with a macroscopic axial orientational order parameter of 0.40 was achieved by means of a simple rubbing technique. Moreover, reflective polarizing PSCs having the aligned PV layers were applied to power-generating reflective type liquid crystal displays (LCDs), which exhibited a maximum contrast ratio of 1.7. These results form a promising foundation for various energy harvesting polarization dependent opto-electrical LCD device applications.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.257-264
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• 2017

A polymeric ionic liquid, poly(1-methyl 3-(2-acryloyloxypropyl) imidazolium iodide) (PMAPII), was synthesized as a single-iodide-ion-conducting polymer and employed in a gel polymer electrolyte. Gel polymer electrolytes prepared from iodine, 4-tert-butylpyridine, ${\gamma}$-butyrolactone, and PMAPII were applied in quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The addition of 16 wt.% PMAPII provided the most favorable environment, striking a compromise between the iodide ion concentration and the ionic mobility, which resulted in the highest conversion efficiency of the resulting DSSCs. The quasi-solid-state DSSC assembled with the optimized gel polymer electrolyte exhibited a relatively high conversion efficiency of 7.67% under AM 1.5 illumination at $100mA\;cm^{-2}$ and better stability than that of the DSSC with a liquid electrolyte.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.306-308
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• 2007

Poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether (PEGDME)/fumed silica/ 1-methyl -3-propylimidazolium iodide (MPII)/$I_2$ mixtures were used as polymer electrolytes in solid state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The contents of MPII were changed and the concentration of $I_2$ was fixed at 0.1 mole% with respect to the MPII. The maximum ionic conductivity was obtained at [EG]:[MPII]:[$I_2$]=10:1.5:0.15. It was supposed that the maximum of ionic conductivities would match with that of cell efficiencies, if the ionic conductivity is a rate determining step in the sol id state DSSCs. However, the maximum composition did not show the maximum solar cell performance, indicating the mismatch between ionic conductivity and cell performance. This suggests that the ionic conductivity may not be the rate controlling step in determining the cell efficiency in these experimental conditions, whereas other parameters such as the electron recombination might play an important role. Thus, we tried to modify the surface of the $TiO_2$ particles by coating a thin metal oxide such as $Al_2O_3$ or $Nb_2O_5$ layer to prevent electron recombination. As a result, the maximum of the cell efficiency was shifted to that of the ionic conductivity. The peak shifts were also attempted to be explained by the diffusion coefficient and the lifetime of electrons in the $TiO_2$ layer.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.228-232
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• 2019

Copper electroplating and electrode patterning using a screen printer are applied instead of lithography for heterostructure with intrinsic thin layer(HIT) silicon solar cells. Samples are patterned on an indium tin oxide(ITO) layer using polymer resist printing. After polymer resist patterning, a Ni seed layer is deposited by sputtering. A Cu electrode is electroplated in a Cu bath consisting of $Cu_2SO_4$ and $H_2SO_4$ at a current density of $10mA/cm^2$. Copper electroplating electrodes using a screen printer are successfully implemented to a line width of about $80{\mu}m$. The contact resistance of the copper electrode is $0.89m{\Omega}{\cdot}cm^2$, measured using the transmission line method(TLM), and the sheet resistance of the copper electrode and ITO are $1{\Omega}/{\square}$ and $40{\Omega}/{\square}$, respectively. In this paper, a screen printer is used to form a solar cell electrode pattern, and a copper electrode is formed by electroplating instead of using a silver electrode to fabricate an efficient solar cell electrode at low cost.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.320-320
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• 2010

The dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have achieved so far the highest validated efficiency over 11%. However, the cells with the best performance utilize volatile solvent as a electrolyte, which can cause some practical limitations for the long-term operation. This is one of the most substantial problems to be resolved for the commercialization of DSSCs. In order to improve the long-term stability, many research groups have reported new electrolyte system, to replace the liquid type electrolyte by non-volatile ones. In this work, we studied long-term stability of the DSSCs with various types of electrolytes such as (PVDF HFP) based polymer, eutectic melts of ionic liquids, and liquid based solvent. The cells with various electrolytes have been exposed to the condition under thermal stress and illumination over 1000 hours. We will report the change of photovoltaic properties with time and investigate the degradation mechanism with the impedance spectroscopic analysis.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.963-968
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• 2009

Liquid crystal (LC; E7 and/or ML-0249)-embedded, poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-co-HFP)-based, polymer electrolytes were prepared for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The electrolytes contained 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium iodide (PMII), tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI), and iodine ($I_2$), which participate in the $I_3^-/I^-$ redox couple. The incorporation of photochemically stable PVdF-co-HFP in the DSSCs created a stable polymer electrolyte that resisted leakage and volatilization. DSSCs, with liquid crystal(LC)-embedded PVdF-co-HFP-based polymer electrolytes between the amphiphilic ruthenium dye N719 absorbed to the nanocrystalline $TiO_2$ photoanode and the Pt counter electrode, were fabricated. These DSSCs displayed enhanced redox couple reduction and reduced charge recombination in comparison to that fabricated from the conventional PVdF-co-HFP-based polymer electrolyte. The behavior of the polymer electrolyte was improved by the addition of optimized amounts of plasticizers, such as ethylene carbonate (EC) and propylene carbonate (PC). The significantly increased short-circuit current density ($J_{sc}$, $14.60\;mA/cm^2$) and open-circuit voltage ($V_{oc}$, 0.68 V) of these DSSCs led to a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.42% and a fill factor of 0.65 under a standard light intensity of $100\;mW/cm^2$ irradiation of AM 1.5 sunlight. A DSSC fabricated by using E7-embedded PVdF-co-HFP-based polymer electrolyte exhibited a maximum incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 50%.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.134.2-134.2
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• 2014

Photonic crystal solar cells have the potential for addressing the disparate length scales in polymer photovoltaic materials, thereby confronting the major challenge in solar cell technology: efficiency. One must achieve simultaneously an efficient absorption of photons with effective carrier extraction. Unfortunately the two processes have opposing requirements. Efficient absorption of light calls for thicker PV active layers whereas carrier transport always benefits from thinner ones, and this dichotomy is at the heart of an efficiency/cost conundrum that has kept solar energy expensive relative to fossil fuels. This dichotomy persists over the entire solar spectrum but increasingly so near a semiconductor's band edge where absorption is weak. We report a 2-D, photonic crystal morphology that enhances the efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells relative to conventional planar cells. The morphology is developed by patterning an organic photoactive bulk heterojunction blend of Poly(3-(2-methyl-2-hexylcarboxylate) thiophene-co-thiophene) and PCBM via PRINT, a nano-embossing method that lends itself to large area fabrication of nanostructures. The photonic crystal cell morphology increases photocurrents generally, and particularly through the excitation of resonant modes near the band edge of the organic PV material. The device performance of the photonic crystal cell showed a nearly doubled increase in efficiency relative to conventional planar cell designs. Photonic crystals can also enhance performance of other optoelectronic devices including organic laser.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.1 no.1 s.1
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• pp.32-36
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• 2005

We studied the optoelectronic properties of hybrid solar cells formed by mixing cadmium sulfide [CdS] nanorods with a conjugated polymer, poly-2-methoxy, 5-[2'-ethy[hexyloxy]-1,4-p-phenylenevinylene[MEH-PPV]. CdS nanorods were grown vertically on Ti substrates by electrochemical deposition through a porous alumina template. Absorption spectrum of the composite layer was the same as the superposition of the absorption spectrum of each individual layer. The photoluminescence signal from MEH-PPV film was reduced as a result of the mixing. The energy conversion efficiency of MEH-PPV improved from $0.0012\%$ to about $0.60\%$ when combined with the vertically aligned CdS nanorods.

• Polymer Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.143-150
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• 2013