Applications of Organic Ferroelectric Dipoles in Organic Photovoltaic Devices-for Tunability and High Efficiency
Dr. Jinsong Huang
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering,
Department of Electric Engineering, &
Nebraska Center of Materials and Nanoscience
University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA
May 5th, 15:00-16:30, Keyan bldg
Ferroelectric materials are generally not thought to be applicable for efficient solar energy harvesting by photovoltaic effect because they are mostly good insulators due to their large bandgaps. In this talk, several uniqueapproaches will be introduced to apply organic ferroelectric interfacial and bulk dipoles, mainly PVDF and its co-polymers, in all organic photovoltaic devices to demonstrate switchable photovoltaic phenomenon, and to increase energy conversion efficiency.
In the first approach, ultrathin polymer ferroelectric dipoles were inserted at the interface of metal electrodes and organic semiconducting active layer in organic photovoltaic devices. An aligned ferroelectric dipole layer can boost the efficiency of organic photovoltaic devices with its huge density spontaneous polarization charges that induce a large electric field into the intrinsic organic semiconducting active layer. As the second approach, the ferroelectric dipoles were inserted between donor and acceptor to tune the relative energy offset, optimizing the voltage output. The morphology of the ferroelectric layer, including crystallinity, coverage, and domain size, played a critical role in determining the efficiency of the devices. In addition to Langmuir-Blodgett coating process, a new method to pre-form polymer ferroelectric nanoparticles with controlled size and crystallinity will be introduced. The application of the polymer ferroelectric nanoparticle as interfacial layer in organic photovoltaic devices leaded to optimized device performance.
Short Bio.of Jinsong Huang
Dr. Jinsong Huang received his PhD in 2007 from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles. He became an assistant professor at the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and the Department of Electric Engineering (by courtesy) in the University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL) in 2009 after serving a high-tech company in Boston for two years. His research at UNL currently focuses on Organic Electronics and Nanoelectronics. He is the recipient of multiple awards since he joined UNL, including National Science Foundation CAREER award (2013), Edgerton Innovation Award (2012),and DOD Young Investigator Award (2010). He is the co-author of over ten granted/pending U.S. patents, and over 100 journal and conference publications.
