Self-organization of liquid crystalline and crystalline-conjugated materials has been used to create, directly from solution, thin films with structures optimized for use in photodiodes. The discotic liquid crystal hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene was used in combination with a perylene dye to produce thin films with vertically segregated perylene and hexabenzocoronene, with large interfacial surfac...

Photovoltaic cells are able to convert sunlight into electricity, providing enough of the most abundant and cleanest energy to cover our energy needs. However, the efficiency of current photovoltaics is significantly impeded by the transmission loss of sub-band-gap photons. Photon upconversion is a promising route to circumvent this problem by converting these transmitted sub-band-gap photons i...

The influence of electromagnetic scattering by Au and silica nanoparticles placed atop silicon photovoltaic devices on absorption and photocurrent generation has been investigated. The nanoparticles produce substantial increases in power transmission into the semiconductor and consequently photocurrent response from 500 to 1000 nm. Increases in power conversion efficiency under simulated solar ...

Project Title: Spin Injection and Its Effects on Losing Action in Conjugated Polymers This project specifically focuses on two particular topics: (i) developing organic spintronics for magnetically controlling constructive and non-constructive interaction of excited processes towards lasing applications and (ii) elucidating singlet and triplet photovoltaic processes towards improving photovolta...

We study the performance of photovoltaic devices when controlling the exciton radiative recombination time. We demonstrate that when high-quantum-yield fluorescent photovoltaic materials are placed within an optical cavity, the spontaneous emission of the radiative exciton is partially inhibited. The corresponding increase of the exciton lifetime results in an increase of the effective diffusio...

Direct solar-to-fuels conversion can be achieved by coupling a photovoltaic device with water-splitting catalysts. We demonstrate that a solar-to-fuels efficiency (SFE) > 10% can be achieved with nonprecious, low-cost, and commercially ready materials. We present a systems design of a modular photovoltaic (PV)-electrochemical device comprising a crystalline silicon PV minimodule and low-cost hy...

Solar photovoltaic (SPV) has emerged as one of the major renewable source of electricity generation. Solar electricity is more expensive than that produced by traditional sources. But over the past two decades, the cost gap has been closing. Solar photovoltaic (SPV) technology has emerged as a useful power source of applications such as lightning, meeting the electricity needs of villages, hosp...

Keun-Young Park, Geun-Woo Kim, Yong-Jun Seo, Si-Nae Heo, Hang Ju Ko, Sung-Hun Lee, Tae Kwon Song and Bon Heun Koo* School of Nano & Advanced Materials Engineering, Changwon National University, Chang Won, Korea Photovoltaic and Optoelectronic device center, Korea Photonics Technology Institute (KOPTI), Gwangju, Korea Department of Material Processing, Advanced Thin Film Research Group, Korea In...