• Search Research Projects
  • Search Researchers
  • How to Use
  1. Back to previous page

Eco-friendly water-based microemulsions for large-scale and low-cost organic photovoltaics windows

Research Project

Project/Area Number 17K14549
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Research Field Device related chemistry
Research InstitutionThe University of Electro-Communications

Principal Investigator

VOHRA Varun  電気通信大学, 大学院情報理工学研究科, 准教授 (10731713)

Research Collaborator Destri Silvia  
Project Period (FY) 2017-04-01 – 2019-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2018)
Budget Amount *help
¥4,420,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,020,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥2,210,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥510,000)
Fiscal Year 2017: ¥2,210,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥510,000)
Keywords半透明太陽電池 / サステナブルエネルギー / 再生エネルギー技術 / 環境に優しいプロセス / Solar Technology / Eco-friendly Process / Organic Solar Cells / Renewable Energy / Sustainable Fabrication / Aqueous dispersions / Functional surfactant / Donor:acceptor domains / Green process / Conjugated Nanoparticles / Light manipulation / Self-assembly / 太陽電池
Outline of Final Research Achievements

We synthesized a series of amphiphilic semiconducting copolymers to produce water-based nanoparticle inks for organic solar cell (OSC) fabrication. Power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) over 2% were obtained for short hydrophilic blocks of 5 repeating units. Hydrophobic interactions produce a strong pi-pi stacking of the conjugated blocks which increases the hole mobility in the water-processed OSC active layers. Furthermore, as the phase separation is confined into small dimension nanoparticles, a larger donor-acceptor interface is formed as compared to thin films conventionally spin-coated from chlorinated solvents. Our best performing OSCs produced using water as the solvent have a PCE similar to conventional ones fabricated with dangerous chlorinated organic solvents.
Together with our results on sustainable fabrication of efficient semitransparent OSCs, our research thus opens the path to the production of next-generation energy technologies through green & sustainable methods.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

経済産業省は2030年までに化石燃料の燃焼の削減を目指す太陽光起電技術の利用を推進している。従来の太陽電池の作製には高消費電力が必要となるため、作製時に二酸化炭素排出量が増加する。有機太陽電池は低い二酸化炭素排出量かつ半透明で作製できるため、カーボンフットプリント削減効果の高い次世代の光起電力窓に適用可能である。しかし、活性層作製時に、人間の健康や環境に危険な溶媒と副産物を多く廃棄する。本研究で開発した半透明有機太陽電池のサステナブル作製方法を用いることで、環境を汚染せずに二酸化炭素排出量を削減できるため、社会への寄与が大きくて学術的な価値も高い。

Report

(3 results)
  • 2018 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2017 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (25 results)

All 2019 2018 2017 Other

All Int'l Joint Research (3 results) Journal Article (8 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 8 results,  Peer Reviewed: 8 results,  Open Access: 1 results) Presentation (14 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 13 results,  Invited: 6 results)

  • [Int'l Joint Research] Institute for Macromolecular Studies/Polytechnic University of Milan(イタリア)

    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] Institute for Macromolecular Studies/ISTM-CNR(Italy)

    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] National Chiao Tung University(Taiwan)

    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
  • [Journal Article] Ternary Active Layers for Neutral Color Semitransparent Organic Solar Cells with PCEs over 4%2019

    • Author(s)
      Takashi Sano, Shusei Inaba, Varun Vohra
    • Journal Title

      ACS Applied Energy Materials

      Volume: 2 Issue: 4 Pages: 2534-2540

    • DOI

      10.1021/acsaem.8b02144

    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Eco-Friendly Push-Coated Polymer Solar Cells with No Active Material Wastes Yield Power Conversion Efficiencies over 5.5%2019

    • Author(s)
      Shusei Inaba, Ryosuke Arai, Geanina Mihai , Oana Lazar, Calin Moise, Marius Enachescu, Yuko Takeoka, Varun Vohra
    • Journal Title

      ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

      Volume: 11 Issue: 11 Pages: 10785-10793

    • DOI

      10.1021/acsami.8b22337

    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Efficient Ultrathin Organic Solar Cells with Sustainable β-Carotene as Electron Donor2019

    • Author(s)
      Varun Vohra, Takayuki Uchiyama, Shusei Inaba, Yoshiko Okada-Shudo
    • Journal Title

      ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

      Volume: 7 Issue: 4 Pages: 4376-4381

    • DOI

      10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b06255

    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Low-cost light manipulation coatings for polymer solar cell photocurrent increase under various incident angles2019

    • Author(s)
      Takahiro Takumi, Savanna Lloyd, Hideyuki Murata, Varun Vohra
    • Journal Title

      Materials Research Letters

      Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Pages: 68-74

    • DOI

      10.1080/21663831.2018.1556183

    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Can Polymer Solar Cells Open the Path to Sustainable and Efficient Photovoltaic Windows Fabrication?2018

    • Author(s)
      Varun Vohra
    • Journal Title

      The Chemical Record (印刷中)

      Volume: - Issue: 7 Pages: 1166-1178

    • DOI

      10.1002/tcr.201800072

    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Water-Processable Amphiphilic Low Band Gap Block Copolymer:Fullerene Blend Nanoparticles as Alternative Sustainable Approach for Organic Solar Cells2018

    • Author(s)
      Stefania Zappia, Guido Scavia, Anna Maria Ferretti, Umberto Giovanella, Varun Vohra, Silvia Destri
    • Journal Title

      Advanced Sustainable Systems

      Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Pages: 1700155-1700155

    • DOI

      10.1002/adsu.201700155

    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Nanostructured Light-Emitting Polymer Thin Films and Devices Fabricated by the Environment-Friendly Push-Coating Technique2018

    • Author(s)
      Varun Vohra, Francesco Galeotti, Umberto Giovanella, Wojciech Mroz, Mariacecilia Pasini, Chiara Botta
    • Journal Title

      ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

      Volume: 10 Issue: 14 Pages: 11794-11800

    • DOI

      10.1021/acsami.8b00137

    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Low-Cost and Green Fabrication of Polymer Electronic Devices by Push-Coating of the Polymer Active Layers2017

    • Author(s)
      Varun Vohra, Wojciech Mroz, Shusei Inaba, William Porzio, Umberto Giovanella, Francesco Galeotti
    • Journal Title

      ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

      Volume: 9 Issue: 30 Pages: 25434-25444

    • DOI

      10.1021/acsami.7b07857

    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Natural β-carotene as electron donor materials in see-through organic solar cells2019

    • Author(s)
      Takayuki Uchiyama, Takashi Sano, Varun Vohra, Yoshiko Okada-Shudo
    • Organizer
      The 66th JSAP Spring Meeting 2019
    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Air-processed ternary active layers for neutral color transparent polymer solar cells2019

    • Author(s)
      Takashi Sano, Shusei Inaba, Varun Vohra
    • Organizer
      The 66th JSAP Spring Meeting 2019
    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Innovative solutions for low-cost and sustainable fabrication of semi-transparent polymer solar cells2018

    • Author(s)
      Varun Vohra
    • Organizer
      World Congress on Materials Research and Technology
    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Water-processable nano-assemblies based on amphiphilic low band gap rod-coil block copolymers for sustainable organic solar cells2018

    • Author(s)
      Stefania Zappia, Anna-Maria Ferretti, Silvia Destri, Umberto Giovanella, Guido Scavia, Tersilla Virgili, Janardan Dagar, Thomas Brown, Varun Vohra
    • Organizer
      Italian National Conference on Materials Science and Technology
    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
  • [Presentation] プッシュコート法による環境に配慮した低コスト有機太陽電池の作製2018

    • Author(s)
      Shusei Inaba, Varun Vohra
    • Organizer
      The 79th JSAP Autumn Meeting 2018
    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Improving sensing and optoelectronic technologies using bio-inspired polymer nano- and micro-structures2018

    • Author(s)
      Varun Vohra
    • Organizer
      International Conference on Energy, Materials and Nanotechnology.
    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Recent advances in polymer solar cells fabrication using green processes2018

    • Author(s)
      Varun Vohra
    • Organizer
      Collaborative Conference on Materials Research
    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Water-processable nanoparticle assemblies based on amphiphilic low band gap rod-coil block copolymers: a tool for active layers in OPV cells2018

    • Author(s)
      Stefania Zappia, Silvia Destri, Guido Scavia, William Porzio, Umberto Giovanella, Anna-Maria Ferretti, Varun Vohra, Janardan Dagar, Thomas Brown
    • Organizer
      European Materials Research Society Spring Meeting 2018
    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Low-cost fabrication of polymer electronic devices employing the eco-friendly push-coating process2018

    • Author(s)
      Varun Vohra, Shusei Inaba, Francesco Galeotti, Umberto Giovanella
    • Organizer
      10th international symposium on organic molecular electronics
    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Efficient polymer solar cells based on eco-friendly active layer deposition processes2018

    • Author(s)
      Varun Vohra
    • Organizer
      4th Global Nanotechnology Congress & Expo
    • Related Report
      2018 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Low-cost and green fabrication of polymer solar cell active layers by push-coating2018

    • Author(s)
      Shusei Inaba, Francesco Galeotti, Varun Vohra
    • Organizer
      Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP) Spring Meeting 2018
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Increasing the short-circuit current densities of polymer photovoltaic devices using self-assembled polymer nanostructures2017

    • Author(s)
      Varun Vohra, Takumi Takahiro, Stefania Zappia, Silvia Destri
    • Organizer
      NANOSMAT-Asia 2017
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Eco-friendly Processes for Polymer Photovoltaic Device Fabrication2017

    • Author(s)
      Varun Vohra, Shusei Inaba, Francesco Galeotti, Silvia Destri
    • Organizer
      International Symposium on Novel Energy Nanomaterials, Catalysts and Surfaces for Future Earth
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Environment-Friendly Polymer Solar Cell Fabrication With Reduced Chlorinated Solvent Wastes2017

    • Author(s)
      Varun Vohra, Shusei Inaba, Silvia Destri
    • Organizer
      World Congress of Nano Science & Technology 2017
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited

URL: 

Published: 2017-04-28   Modified: 2022-02-22  

Information User Guide FAQ News Terms of Use Attribution of KAKENHI

Powered by NII kakenhi