Molecular Simulations of Organic Semiconductors for Clean Energy Production

Ramon Mendoza, Samantha Chesser, Mia Klopfenstein, Evan Miller, Mike Henry, Matthew L. Jones, Eric Jankowski

Research output: Contribution to conferencePresentation

Abstract

Energy can be produced more sustainably through both the creation of new sustainable solar technologies and by lowering the impact of fossil fuels use. In this work, we simulate asphaltenes, which could be used as an ingredient in organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and which also clogs oil pipelines. OPVs are composed of organic semiconductor materials making them lightweight, flexible, and easy to manufacture. The same materials used in OPVs offer promise in a wide range of applications including organic field effect transistors (OFETs) and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). The asphaltenes simulated here are polydisperse aromatic molecules found as solid aggregates in petroleum refineries. We simulate the controlled aggregation of asphaltenes with varying aromatic core sizes and varying tail amounts and find they assemble long, slightly symmetrical chains. These chains are beneficial for electron mobility, a good thing for efficient organic solar cells. This work demonstrates the potential to use the waste from one energy production method (oil refining) as an ingredient for solar energy production.

Original languageAmerican English
StatePublished - 12 Jul 2018

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