Harvesting Solar Energy using Electron-rich Phenothiazine-based Conjugated Poly-ynes as Donor Materials

Energy and the environment are two of the top challenges currently faced by humanity. Sunlight is perhaps the most abundant, renewable and clean energy source for the planet Earth. Therefore, the strong demand to harvest solar energy stimulates intensive scientific research for efficient, low-cost, lightweight photovoltaic devices. Organic polymer-based photovoltaic systems hold promise for a cost-effective, lightweight solar energy conversion platform compared to traditional inorganic semiconductors and have potential to excel in large-area flexible devices. The objectives of this seed project are: (i) strategic development of new class of materials consisting of ?-conjugated acetylide-functionalized phenothiazine-based organic co-polymers; (ii) chemical, photo-physical characterization and opto-electronic application of the new materials. The new materials will be characterized by FTIR, UV/Vis, multi-nuclear NMR and FAB MS. The effect of different aromatic spacers on the electronic and optical properties will be evaluated.