Organic Photovoltaics: A Promising Solution to Climate Change

Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) present a promising solution to the climate change challenge. Given their light weight, flexibility and potential ease of fabrication, these devices can be applied to almost any surface that is illuminated by sunlight for onsite energy harvesting. In this talk, we will report on summer research that covered the design and fabrication of a special class of OPVs called semi-transparent OPVs (ST-OPVs) and how they can be integrated within windows of buildings to support cities. We will discuss the design and fabrication of the opaque OPV from which these ST-OPVs derive, and the optical designs that can be employed to enhance the performance of ST-OPVs. Finally, the stability of these devices and their current limitations to commercialization will be considered.