Elizabeth von Hauff, Uni Oldenburg

Conjugated polymers have unique material properties which make them promising for a wide range of applications. The real potential lies in the infinite possibilities for creating new materials for specific applications simply by chemically tuning the molecular structure. Conjugated polymers possess electrical properties comparable to non-crystalline inorganic semiconductors, however, the complex chemical and structural properties of conjugated polymers more closely resemble those of bio-macromolecules. Molecular conformation and interactions play an important role in the functionality of these material systems. Thin polymer films can be processed from solution using a variety of low cost techniques. The molecular structure of the polymer dominate the opto-electronic properties of the film, however the fabrication parameters influence the bulk morphology and sometimes the device performance. A correlation between molecular structure, the characteristics of the mesoscopic polymer thin film and device performance is not trivial and not yet well understood. In this talk, the state of the art of polymer photovoltaics is discussed and the interplay between the intrinsic molecular properties and the device parameters are explored.