THE SCHOOL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Under the provisions of the regulations for the degree

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

on Tuesday, September 10, 2019

10:00 AM
in ES&T L1105

will be held the

DISSERTATION PROPOSAL DEFENSE

for

Abigail A. Advincula

"An Investigation into the Effects of Side-Chain Engineering in Polymer Organic Solar Cells"

Committee Members:

Prof. John R. Reynolds, Advisor, CHEM/MSE

Prof. Blair Brettmann, CHBE/MSE

Prof. Stefan France, CHEM

Prof. Rampi Ramprasad, MSE

Prof. Natalie Stingelin, MSE/CHBE

Abstract:

Organic solar cells (OSCs) offer a potential means to produce clean and efficient energy, having recently realized >15% power conversion efficiency in single-junction solar cells. Commercialization of OSCs, however, necessitates long-term device stability and scalable fabrication methods as well as a deeper understanding of the relationship between morphology and device performance. Development of new families of organic structures and processing methods is key to a more complete knowledge of the fundamentals of OSCs.

In the proposed work, a multi-faceted approach leveraging synthesis, characterization, and device fabrication is outlined to understand OSC fundamentals. We have recently synthesized a family of thienopyrroledione-based polymers with acceptor unit side chains of increasing bulk to study the consequent effect on molecular packing and fullerene proximity. A proposed second family of benzodithiophene based polymers will be studied to consider the effect of sidechain regio-isomerism on materials properties and device statistics. By identifying the relationships between structure, properties, and performance, this work will enable the rational design of high efficiency OSCs.