Improved Efficiency and Stability in Lightweight Polymeric Photovoltaic Devices

Polymeric photovoltaic devices are attractive for NASA?s space and terrestrial applications because of their light weight and low production cost. However, current devices suffer from instability and short lifetimes. The stability and lifetime of polymeric photovoltaic devices can be extended by increasing the charge mobility through the conjugated polymer. This increase in mobility reduces the opportunity for device degradation through trapped charges. Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) proposes to increase the charge mobility by developing a three-component blend of conjugated polymers and fullerenes which will simultaneously increase the efficiency and stability of the device by increasing the hole mobility of the composite. The photovoltaic devices constructed with the polymer are predicted to have a tenfold increase in stability compared to devices fabricated with a blend of a single conjugated polymer and fullerenes.