Oes the molecular weight of polymers affect the performance of polymer Research Paper

Oes the molecular weight of polymers affect the performance of polymer (organic) solar cells - Research Paper Example (b) Key among these factors is the physical properties of bulk heterojunction, which plays a significant role (Kingsley et al. 22). Components of bulk heterojunction require a broad absorption response in the solar spectrum, which then ensure efficient harvesting of the photons. (c) In addition, the energy levels donor, which is usually a conjugated polymer, need to match with that of the electron acceptor, which typically is a derivative of fullerene (Intemann et al. 3190). This implies that the donor polymer needs to possess a deep highest occupied molecular orbital, which will ensure a large open circuit voltage (Xiao et al. 75). (a) The molecular weight of a conjugated polymer influences the effective conjugated chain (Liu et al. 12165). Therefore, molecular weight makes the electrical and optical properties of the polymers to vary, which improves the performance of polymer solar cells. (b) Prior to conducting and finalizing the research papers, the writers expect that correlations will be evident between the molecular weight and voltage, light absorbance, and current density of solar cells. These correlations will be further investigated and addressed in depth in the final report. Intemann, Jeremy J. et al. â€Å"Molecular Weight Effect on the Absorption, Charge Carrier Mobility, and Photovoltaic Performance of an Indacenodiselenophene-Based Ladder-Type Polymer.† Chemistry of Materials 25.15 (2013): 3188–3195. ACS Publications. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. Kingsley, James W. et al. â€Å"Molecular Weight Dependent Vertical Composition Profiles of PCDTBT: PC71BM Blends for Organic Photovoltaics.† Scientific Reports 4 (2014): n. pag. www.nature.com. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. Xiao, Zeyun et al. â€Å"Effect of Molecular Weight on the Properties and Organic Solar Cell Device Performance of a Donor–Acceptor Conjugated Polymer.† Polymer Chemistry (2015): n. pag. pubs.rsc.org. Web. 5 Mar.