Oxidative chemical vapor deposition of conductive polymers for use in novel photovoltaic device architectures
Name
860791890-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
20.24 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
b94b87f81ad9aab070212669ebe2eb79
Author(s)
Howden, Rachel M. (Rachel Mary)
Advisor(s)
Karen K. Gleason.
Date Issued
2013
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
The conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), (PEDOT), deposited via oxidative chemical vapor deposition (oCVD) has been investigated for use in organic electronic devices. The oCVD process as well as the application of oCVD PEDOT in photovoltaic devices is described. oCVD enables the synthesis of conjugated conductive films with advantageous properties for organic optoelectronic device applications. The oCVD process of forming the polymer film allows compatibility with a wide range of substrates, including those that are flexible or fragile, and provides a relatively low-energy means of depositing film layers that may not be possible through solution or other processing. Films deposited using varying oCVD process and pre- and post-treatment parameters (e.g. temperature, oxidant exposure, rinsing) were characterized based on their physical and electrical properties. It was found that acid rinsing of the already deposited films led to lower sheet resistance and surface roughness and an improvement in film stability. The oCVD PEDOT has been demonstrated as a replacement for solution-processed PEDOT:PSS as a hole transporting layer as well as for the transparent electrode material (typically ITO) in typical organic photovoltaic structures. Reverse-structure photovoltaic cells were also created using direct deposition of PEDOT electrodes onto small molecule active layer materials yielding fully dry-processed devices. The direct deposition of PEDOT top electrodes has enabled the fabrication of devices on opaque substrates leading to a greater than ten-fold improvement in previous devices fabricated on paper. Compatibility with novel photovoltaic materials has been demonstrated in work done using oCVD PEDOT as HTLs on graphene electrodes to make ITO-free devices.
Description
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, 2013.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references.
Subjects
Chemical Engineering.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
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