SBIR Phase I: Macrocycle-Enhanced Nanotechnology Organic Photovoltaic Solutions

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop cost-effective organic absorber-based photovoltaics devices by incorporating a unique solar absorber into the p-type semiconductor, which will increase absorption over a broader range of the solar spectrum, leading to the increase in the device current, and thus the energy conversion efficiency. The broader/commercial impact of this project will be the potential to improve the energy conversion efficiency and reduce the cost of Organic Photovoltaics (OPV) devices. Compared to traditional photovoltaics technologies, OPV technology provides the opportunity to generate solar electricity using abundant raw materials and be environmentally friendly. The major challenge that hinders the application of OPV devices is its low conversion efficiency. This project is anticipated to achieve 10-15% improvement of OPV energy conversion efficiency as compared to current technology.