Pereira, Harriotte Jessica (2019) Nanostructured copper window and reflective electrodes for organic photovoltaics. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The work reported in this thesis is focused on developing Cu electrodes for organic photovoltaics (OPVs). At present indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass is the dominant transparent electrode used in OPVs owing to its high optical transparency and electrical conductivity. However, there are some significant drawbacks in ITO, most notably the use of indium which is a costly rare earth metal and poor compatibility with flexible substrates. Consequently, more sustainable alternative electrode materials are needed for application in OPVs and thin metal films particularly silver has attracted attention for this purpose because of the high electrical conductivity and low optical losses. However, silver is a costly metal, thus more cheap alternatives are essential in order to reap the full cost benefit of energy generation from OPVs.

Cu is an abundant metal with comparable electrical properties to that of silver but has received very little attention as an alternative electrode material due to its susceptibility to oxidation in air. However, in the recent past, a number of passivation techniques have been developed that enable retardation of Cu oxidation without electrical isolation, imparting increased stability under ambient conditions.

This thesis highlights Cu as a viable alternative to conventional ITO and silver metal electrodes, describing in detail the fabrication and characterization of Cu electrodes and their application in conventional, inverted and top-illuminated OPV device architectures. A comprehensive investigation of the application of Cu as a transparent window electrode, reflective substrate electrode and a plasmon-active light catching electrode is discussed.

As research pertaining to the use of Cu electrodes in OPVs is extremely limited, it is anticipated that the concepts and results discussed in this thesis will be useful in the inevitable transition to low cost-alternatives enabling the exploitation of the full potential of OPVs in energy harvesting.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	Q Science > QD Chemistry T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Electrodes, Copper, Organic photovoltaic cells, Energy harvesting
Official Date:	July 2019
Dates:	Date Event July 2019 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Chemistry
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Hatton, Ross A.
Sponsors:	University of Warwick. Chancellor’s International Scholarship
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	xiii, 178 leaves : charts, illustrations
Language:	eng

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