Effective and sustainable charge transporting molecules for energy efficiency technologies

   

Project no.: 01.2.2-LMT-K-718-03-0040

Project description:

High charge mobility organic semiconductors are essential to achieve high performance in optoelectronic devices such as light emitting diodes, solar cells, phototransistors, photo sensors. The European Union has started to encourage countries with significant research and development potential to pay particular attention to these energy-saving technologies.

In the face of global warming, the EU has pledged to decrease CO2 emissions by 2030 and to achieve 25% of electricity generation from renewable energy sources. Solar energy is the most powerful source of renewable energy and properly refined solar cells can fully meet the energy needs of humanity. Production of energy from photovoltaic devices is growing at an annual rate of 25-30%, and it is starting to become cheaper than thermal energy obtained from fossil fuels. Currently, vast majority of the commercial photovoltaic devices (about 90 percent) are polycrystalline silicon solar cells, however they have their own drawbacks such as relatively high price and complicated manufacturing process. Organic and hybrid solar cells have gained in popularity over the last decade and they hold the promise to reduce manufacturing complexity and cost. Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) belong to another fast-developing energy-saving technology. In many cases OLEDs are combined with transistors which, like the aforementioned electronic devices, also require efficient organic semiconductors with excellent charge transfer.

The aim of this project is to develop and patent efficient p-type organic semiconductors for energy efficient technologies using green chemistry techniques.

Expected results.This project will create sustainable p-type organic semiconductors for efficient optoelectronic devices and will register 4 patent applications at the European (EPO), US (USPTO), Japan (JPO) and China (SIPO) patent offices.

Project funding:

This research project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund according to the 2014–2020 Operational Programme for the European Union Funds’ Investments, under measure’s No. 01.2.2-LMT-K-718 activity “Research Projects Implemented by World-class Researcher Groups to develop R&D activities relevant to economic sectors, which could later be commercialized”.


Project results:

Expected results.This project will create sustainable p-type organic semiconductors for efficient optoelectronic devices and will register 4 patent applications at the European (EPO), US (USPTO), Japan (JPO) and China (SIPO) patent offices.

Project coordinator: Kaunas University of Technology

Head:
Vytautas Getautis

Duration:
2020 - 2023

Department:
Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology