Full-Fission · Singlet fission in fullerene-based single-material organic solar cells
Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2024-04-04 → 2026-04-03
- EU contribution
- €181,153
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Singlet fission in fullerene-based single-material organic solar cells
Solar energy is one of the most promising ways to produce clean and renewable electricity. Today’s solar panels are mostly made of silicon and can reach efficiencies of up to 26%. However, making them is expensive and can harm the environment. A greener and cheaper alternative is to use organic materials instead of silicon. Organic solar cells (OSCs) are especially interesting because they are flexible, lightweight, and easy to produce. Within this field, single-material organic solar cells (SMOSCs) — where the two key components are part of the same molecule — offer even more advantages: easier manufacturing, better stability, and more consistent performance. At the same time, traditional solar cells face a natural efficiency limit of around 30%, known as the Shockley–Queisser limit. A way to overcome this is through singlet fission, a special process where one absorbed light particle (photon) can create two energy units instead of one, potentially doubling the efficiency. The Full-Fission project brings these ideas together. The goal is to develop new organic solar cells that include special molecules (fullerenes) combined with materials capable of singlet fission. To achieve this, the project combines computer simulations, chemical synthesis, and the building of working solar devices. First, new candidate molecules for singlet fission are identified using computational chemistry and machine learning techniques. Next, these molecules are prepared and chemically connected to fullerenes. Finally, the new materials are tested in solar cells to see how well they work. The overall aim is to create next-generation organic solar panels that are efficient, low-cost, and environmentally friendly.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Photovoltaics is, to date, the most promising of all technologies to produce clean and renewable energy. Currently in use silicon-based solar cells have reached power conversion efficiencies as high as 26%, but their fabrication involves expensive and contaminating processes. Moreover, further improvement of their efficiency is restricted to around 30% by the so-called Shockley-Queisser (SQ) limit. Potential solutions to these problems may involve moving from inorganic to organic materials. In this sense, organic solar cells (OSCs) represent a promising alternative to replace silicon because of their low cost, flexibility, and manageable nature. Single-material organic solar cells (SMOSCs), a particular class of OSCs in which the donor and acceptor materials are covalently linked, are particularly attractive because of their facilitated fabrication processes, improved stability, morphology, and reproducibility. On the other hand, to enhance the efficiency beyond the theoretical SQ limit, the use of sensitizing singlet fission (SF) chromophores has been proposed. These materials are able to form two triplet excitons from a single absorbed photon, thus raising the External Quantum Efficiency of solar cells up to 200%. The aim of the Full-Fission action is to combine the potentialities of both approaches to fabricate efficient SMOSCs that incorporate fullerenes functionalized with SF moieties as the active layer. The Full-Fission action is conceived as a holistic approach that will combine computationally-assisted materials design, synthesis, and device fabrication in an interconnected and interdisciplinary project developed by a researcher with experience in all these disciplines.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
Links
- View on CORDIS
- DOI: 10.3030/101106492
- https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/documents/downloadPublic?documentIds=080166e512643351&appId=PPGMS
Data: CORDIS, © European Union