Roland Hany

Woven Electrodes for Flexible Organic Photovoltaic Cells

A stable, conductive, transparent, and flexible electrode based on a precision fabric with metal wires and polymer fibers woven into a mesh is presented. Organic solar cells on woven mesh electrodes and on conventional glass/ITO substrates with very similar performance characteristics are demonstrated.

Gasoline composition determined by 1H NMR spectroscopy

A fast and simple 1H NMR spectroscopic method was developed for the concentration measurement of aromatic, olefinic and aliphatic fractions in gasoline samples. Simultaneously, individual components such as benzene, methyl tert-butyl ether and several dienes could be determined. The method relies on only a few, well-established assumptions about the molecular compositions and is therefore applicable to a broad range of gasolines. It is well suited for laboratories with high sample throughput since measurement time is short and all concentrations are determined within one NMR experiment. The method was applied to commercial gasolines and samples used in European round robin tests. Comparisons of NMR and round robin test results showed excellent agreement.

One-step flame synthesis of SnO2 / TiO2 composite nanoparticles for photocatalytic applications

SnO2 / TiO2 composite nanoparticles have been synthesized in a single-step by feeding evaporated precursor mixtures into an atmospheric pressure diffusion flame. Particles with controlled Ti: Sn ratios were produced at various flow rates of oxygen, and the resulting powders were characterized by BET surface area analysis, XRD, TEM, EDAX and UV-Vis spectroscopy. For the lowest concentration (3.4 mol %) of SnO2 employed in this study anatase phase of TiO2 is stabilized, while segregation of SnO2 is seen at medium (6.9 to 12.4 mol %) and high concentrations (20.3 mol %). Though the equilibrium phase diagram predicts complete solubility of one oxide in another at all compositions, segregation of SnO2 phase is observed which is explained by the usage of diffusion flame in the present study. The particle formation mechanism of SnO2 / TiO2 composites is proposed basing on the single component aerosol formation. Photocatalytic activity of the composite particles is tested for the degradation of methylene blue and is compared with pure TiO2 synthesized under similar conditions. Improved photocatalytic activity of the composite particles is attributed to the stabilized anatase phase and better charge separation due to the coupling of TiO2 and SnO2 within the composite nanoparticles.

Origin of the Kink in Current-Density Versus Voltage Curves and Efficiency Enhancement of Polymer-C

Current-voltage (J-V ) curves of photovoltaic devices can reveal important microscopic phenomena when parameterization is properly related to physical processes. Here, we identify a pronounced effect of thermal annealing on the organic-cathode metal interface and show that this interface is related to the origin of the kink often observed in J-V curves close to the open circuit. We propose that isolated metal nanoclusters that form upon cathode evaporation lead to defect states close to the interface and change the electric field distribution in the device. We express this scenario with a modified equivalent circuit and consistently fit J- V curves as a function of the annealing process. The developed model is general in the sense that any physical process that leads to the change in electric potential as described in this paper will possibly lead to a kink in the J- V curves. Knowing the origin of the kink allowed us to largely increase the device efficiency of the archetypal material combination Poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene-vinylene] (MEH-PPV) -C. We fabricated solar cells with an efficiency of 1.85% under 100 mW/cm AM1.5 illumination by using a deliberately designed interpenetrating bilayer film morphology, aluminium as cathode and thermal annealing. This is so far the highest reported efficiency for this particular combination of materials.

_{\bf 60}

Organic photodetectors are interesting for low cost, large area optical sensing applications. Combining organic semiconductors with discrete absorption bands outside the visible wavelength range with transparent and conductive electrodes allows for the fabrication of visibly transparent photodetectors. Visibly transparent photodetectors can have far reaching impact in a number of areas including smart displays, window-integrated electronic circuits and sensors. Here, we demonstrate a near-infrared sensitive, visibly transparent organic photodetector with a very high average visible transmittance of 68.9%. The transmitted light of the photodetector under solar irradiation exhibits excellent transparency colour perception and rendering capabilities. At a wavelength of 850 nm and at −1 V bias, the photoconversion efficiency is 17% and the specific detectivity is 1012 Jones. Large area photodetectors with an area of 1.6 cm2 are demonstrated.

Heterojunction Solar Cells

Two new detection methods for the determination of poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) and -valerate (PHV) are described. Both methods are based on depolymerization of PHB/PHV to 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) and 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV). Depolymerization was achieved by either propanolic or hydrolytic digestion. Propanolic digestion transformed commercial PHB/PHV stoichiometrically into 3HB/3HV and yielded apparently complete recoveries of bacterial PHB/PHV from activated sludge. Hydrolytic digestion was suitable only for PHB determination. For quantification of 3HB and 3HV directly from digested sludge, a method based on ion-exchange chromatography and conductivity detection was developed (IC-method). Alternatively, the total of 3HB and 3HV was quantified using a commercial enzymatic test kit and colorimetric detection (enzyme method). Both detection methods are easier to perform than previous methods and are suitable for complex matrices such as activated sludge. The IC-method is recommended for high sample throughputs or if distinction between PHB and PHV is essential. Enzymatic detection is recommended if a few samples per day have to be measured immediately or if an ion chromatograph is unavailable.

Transparent Organic Photodetector using a Near-Infrared Absorbing Cyanine Dye

Significant progress is being made in the photovoltaic energy conversion using soluble small organic molecules. We report the fabrication of layered heterojunction solar cells with 3% power conversion efficiency consisting of a solution-processed cyanine dye, C60 and doped polyaniline anode layers that match the cyanine energy level and facilitate hole extraction.

Determination of polyhydroxyalkanoates in activated sludge by ion chromatographic and enzymatic methods

A method to exchange the counterion of cyanine dyes to Δ-TRISPHAT(-) and PF6(-) is presented. The influence of these counterions on the photophysical and electrochemical properties of the cyanine dye in solution is discussed, and tendencies in the solid packing are highlighted by X-ray crystal structures. The compounds were applied in semitransparent bilayer organic solar cells together with C60, and a power conversion efficiency of 2.2% was achieved while maintaining a high transparency level in the visible region of 66%.

Improved performance of cyanine solar cells with polyaniline anodes

The color changes in chemo- and photochromic MoO3 used in sensors and in organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells can be traced back to intercalated hydrogen atoms stemming either from gaseous hydrogen dissociated at catalytic surfaces or from photocatalytically split water. In applications, the reversibility of the process is of utmost importance, and deterioration of the layer functionality due to side reactions is a critical challenge. Using the membrane approach for high-pressure XPS, we are able to follow the hydrogen reduction of MoO3 thin films using atomic hydrogen in a water free environment. Hydrogen intercalates into MoO3 forming HxMoO3, which slowly decomposes into MoO2 +1/2 H2O as evidenced by the fast reduction of Mo6+ into Mo5+ states and slow but simultaneous formation of Mo4+ states. We measure the decrease in oxygen/metal ratio in the thin film explaining the limited reversibility of hydrogen sensors based on transition metal oxides. The results also enlighten the recent debate on the mechanism of the high temperature hydrogen reduction of bulk molybdenum oxide. The specific mechanism is a result of the balance between the reduction by hydrogen and water formation, desorption of water as well as nucleation and growth of new phases.

NIR-Absorbing Heptamethine Dyes with Tailor-Made Counterions for Application in Light to Energy Conversion

The controlled fabrication of submicrometer phase-separated morphologies of semiconducting organic materials is attracting considerable interest, for example, in emerging thin-film optoelectronic device applications. For thin films of spin-coated blends of PCBM ([6,6]-phenyl-C 61-butyric acid methyl ester) and cationic cyanine dyes, we used atomic force microscopy scans to infer the structure formation mechanism: The solutions separate into transient bilayers, which further spinodally destabilize because of long-range molecular interactions. A thin layer ruptures earlier than a thick layer, and the earlier instability determines the morphology. Consequently, the resulting morphology type mainly depends on the ratio of the layer thicknesses, whereas the periodicity of structures is determined by the absolute film thickness. These findings allow control of the feature sizes, and nodular domains with diameters well below 50 nm were produced. Films prepared with dyes possessing a mobile counterion were always unstable. To rationalize the findings, we developed a thermodynamic model showing that electrostatic forces induced by the mobile counterions act as destabilizing pressure.