Achievement

As part of the IGERT sponsored project on new optoelectronic materials, Christopher Scilla in the Coughlin Research Group is preparing new materials that possess lower band gaps than poly(3-hexyl-thiophene) (P3HT) to more effectively utilize the entire solar spectrum while maintaining the high hole mobility of the P3HT. Care is taken to maintain the proper band alignment with the electron conductor to yield a viable solar cell. A wide variety of monomers have been synthesized to yield low band gap polymers. A good portion of these consist of thiophene rings fused to other aromatic systems. The electron donating ability of the fused aromatic system increases the conjugation along the backbone while maintaining the high mobility of polythiophene like conducting polymers.