<p> Energy generation via organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells provide many advantages over alternative processes including flexibility and price. However, more efficient OPVs are required in order to be competitive for applications. One way to enhance efficiency is through manipulation of exciton mechanisms within the OPV, for example by inserting a thin film of bathocuproine (BCP) and gold nanoparticles between the C<sub>60</sub>/Al and ZnPc/ITO interfaces, respectively. We find that BCP increases efficiencies by 330% due to gains of open circuit voltage (<i>V<sub>oc</sub></i>) by 160% and short circuit current (<i>J<sub>sc</sub></i>) by 130%. However, these gains are complicated by the anomalous photovoltaic effect and an internal chemical potential. Exploration in the tuning of metallic nanoparticle deposition on ITO was done through four techniques. Drop casting Ag nanoparticle solution showed arduous control on deposited morphology. Spin-coating deposited very low densities of nanoparticles. Drop casting and spin-coating methods showed arduous control on Ag nanoparticle morphology due to clustering and low deposition density, respectively. Sputtered gold on glass was initially created to aid the adherence of Ag nanoparticles but instead showed a quick way to deposit aggregated gold nanoparticles. Electrodeposition of gold nanoparticles (AuNP) proved a quick method to tune nanoparticle morphology on ITO substrates. Control of deposition parameters affected AuNP size and distribution. AFM images of electrodeposited AuNPs showed sizes ranging from 39 to 58 nm. UV-Vis spectroscopy showed the presence of localized plasmon resonance through absorption peaks ranging from 503 to 614 nm. A linear correlation between electrodeposited AuNP size and peak absorbance was seen with a slope of 3.26 wavelength(nm)/diameter(nm).</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:1598627 |
| Date | 08 October 2015 |
| Creators | Cacha, Brian Joseph Gonda |
| Publisher | California State University, Long Beach |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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