Date of Award
6-2011
Document Type
Open Access
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science
Department
Mechanical Engineering
Second Department
Chemistry
First Advisor
Ron Bucinell
Second Advisor
Michael Hagerman
Language
English
Keywords
solar, cell, interface, nanocomposite
Abstract
The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Union College in conjunction with the Department of Chemistry and Biological Sciences are presently involved in the research and development of thin film solar nanocomposites. The thin film solar nanocomposite solar devices offer a cheaper alternative to solar technology, however the efficiencies of these thin film solar devices are very low compared to their silicon-based counterparts. The group’s ultimate goal is to produce a flexible solar cell with efficiencies that are comparable to traditional silicon-based solar cells. The collaboration of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Union College has provided new insights that could help increase the development of solar nanocomposites. While there has been significant research on fabrication techniques, this project proposes to investigate the mechanical properties of the solar cell design, specifically the PEDOT:PSS/PET:ITO interface, to determine a correlation between interfacial interactions and overall efficiency.
Recommended Citation
Abrahamson, Kyle C., "Investigating Crack Propagation of PEDOT:PSS in an Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Solar Device" (2011). Honors Theses. 930.
https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses/930