RSC Publishing


Publishing

 

Cover image for Energy & Environmental Science, select for current issue

Energy & Environmental Science

A new journal linking all aspects of the chemical sciences relating to energy conversion and storage, alternative fuel technologies and environmental science.



Subscribers

Non-subscribers

Free access



Minireview

Energy Environ. Sci., 2009, 2, 1266 - 1273, DOI: 10.1039/b912086f


Block copolymers for photovoltaics

Seth B. Darling


Photovoltaic energy conversion is arguably the most promising option for supplying renewable, carbon-neutral energy on a global scale. In order to reach grid parity, however, costs must be reduced substantially. Inexpensive materials generally exhibit efficiencies too low for practical application, but by controlling the morphology on the nanoscale there are opportunities to achieve significant improvements in this area. Block copolymers, which naturally self-assemble into periodic ordered nanostructures, can be utilized in diverse ways to control morphology, ranging from active layers to structure directors to a combination of these methodologies.

Graphical abstract image for this article  (ID: b912086f)