Heterogeneous and hybrid nanocomposite materials for solar cells.

Abstract:
Project is designed as a basic research aimed to gain complex knowledge on the design of pi-conjugated polymers or metal oxides based nanostructured materials applicable in optoelectronic applications, namely in photoelectrochemical and solid-state solar cells. Molecular architecture and material morphology will be optimized by combining chemical synthetic routes and physical processes like phase separation and in-situ crystallization. The relationship between chemical and supramolecular structure and physical properties will be studied experimentally, followed by a theoretical modeling that will give a feedback for a better chemical structure design. The expected output of the project is (i) design of new advanced materials, (ii) improvement of the knowledge of structure-to-properties relationship, and (iii) design of new progressive type of organic solar cells or, in combination with traditional semiconductor materials, improvement of current devices and technologies, respectively.

Key words: photovoltaics; solar cells; conjugated polymers; polymer nanocomposites; titanium dioxide; nanoparticles; surface plasmon; photoresponsive organic solids; surface enhancement optical effect.

Main contractor: Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the ASCR, v.v.i.
Three other contractors: Heyrovský Institute; Faculty of Science of the Charles University in Prague; Solartec, s.r.o.;