| Pacific Rim Symposium on Surfaces, Coatings and Interfaces (PacSurf 2018) | |
| Energy Harvesting & Storage | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session EH-WeM |
| Session: | Efficient Power Conversion/Cells |
| Presenter: | Paul Dastoor, University of Newcastle, Australia |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Organic photovoltaics (OPV) are poised to play a major role in the global energy portfolio driven by their capability to be printed at high speeds across large areas using roll-to-roll (R2R) processing techniques; creating the tantalising vision of coating every roof and other suitable building surface with photovoltaic materials at extremely low cost. Indeed, recent full economic modelling of the balance of materials (BOM) and balance of system (BOS) costs, have highlighted the long-term commercial viability of OPV-based technology in today’s energy marketplace.
However, the chlorinated solvents that are used in current OPV technology are under continual regulatory pressure due to their hazardous and toxic nature. Indeed, increasingly harsh technical requirements for using these solvents means that their implementation in high speed printing lines will be highly problematic if not economically impractical. In addition, tailoring device morphology across large areas is fraught with difficulty due to the challenge of controlling phase segregation of polymer mixtures using conventional printing. Water-based polymer nanoparticle dispersions (solar paint) offer the prospect of simultaneously controlling the nanoscale architecture of the active layer whilst eliminating the need for hazardous organic solvents during device fabrication. However, the behaviour of these nanoparticulate devices is complex and thus understanding their structure-function relationships requires characterisation techniques that can probe chemical structure on the nanoscale. In this paper we review our progress in understanding the structure-function relationships of organic electronic nanoparticulate thin films. In particular, I will discuss how scanning transmission X-ray microscopy is an invaluable tool for characterising these materials.
Finally, I will explore the future prospects and economics for large scale manufacture of solar cells based on printing. I will discuss our recent achievements in the development of a fully operating R2R printing line and the installation of several large scale (> 100 m2) demonstrations of printed solar modules.