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LATEST PROJECTS

Sustainable Solutions in Africa

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- Energy

- Environment

- Climate Change

- Agriculture, etc.

 

Topical areas and Team Under Development 

Beautiful Nature
Current:
Materials for solar technologies
Polymer Solar Cells
Materials for solar technologies
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Polymer and hybrid organic/inorganic solar cells are capable of transforming our daily usage of energy in small appliances and mobile devices. The advent of new semiconducting polymers shifted more attention to bulk heterojunction solar cells in the past years. An example is a synthesis, through chemical structure engineering, of the one and two-dimensional benzodithiophene-co-thieno[3,4-b]thiophene polymer families. Also, the discovery of the application of perovskites in solar cells is opening doors for more research into the field and pushing boundaries. Here, we focus on different materials for different optoelectronic applications and most especially solar technologies. 

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Publications:

  • Abdu-Aguye, M.*; Doumon, N. Y.*; Terzic, I.; Dong, J.; Portale, G.; Loos, K.; Koster, L. J. A.; and Loi, M. A. Can Ferroelectricity improve organic solar cells? Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2020, 2000124,  https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202000124.

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  • Rousseva, S.; den Besten, H.; Doting, E.; Doumon, N. Y.; Douvogianni, E.; Koster, L. J. A.; and Hummelen, J. C.   Reaching a Double-Digit Dielectric Constant With Fullerene Derivatives.  J. Phys. Chem. C 2020, 124, 8633−8638​

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  • Ye, G.; Doumon, N. Y.; Rousseva, S.; Liu, Y.; Abdu-Aguye, M.; Loi, M. A.; Hummelen, J. C.; Koster, L. J. A.; Chiechi, R. C. Conjugated Polyions Enable Organic Photovoltaics Processed from Green Solvents. ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 2019, 2 (3), pp 2197–2204.

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  • ​Zhou, D.; Doumon, N. Y.; Abdu-Aguye, M.; Bartesaghi, D.; Loi, M. a.; Anton Koster, L. J.; Chiechi, R. C.; Hummelen, J. C. High-Quality Conjugated Polymers via One-Pot Suzuki-Miyaura Homopolymerization. RSC Adv. 2017, 7 (44), 27762–27769.

PEROVSKITES FOR SOLAR CELLS
PEROVSKITES FOR SOLAR CELLS
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Synthesis of active organometallic perovskites inks for new generation photovoltaic cells. This project is a continuation of our approach to the development of innovative and high-performance photovoltaic modules at low costs. The scaling up of the technology will require a significant improvement in the perovskite inks produced as well as the optimization of the printing processes in thin-films.

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Publications:

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Degradation of Organic Solar Cells
The degradation of organic solar cells: From chemistry to device physics through materials
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The commercialization of organic solar cell technology relies on three pillars: high efficiency, low cost, and high stability. Thus, the long lifetime and reliability of the cells must be satisfied in this equation. The future of the performance of organic solar cell technology should not only focus on efficiency but also stability. We can only achieve the above through the understanding of the phenomena that hinder the advancement of technology. By understanding the fundamental mechanisms involved in the degradation of organic solar cells, which lead to their short lifetime, one can unlock the key to their future commercialization. Our contribution in this regard is threefold. First, we investigate the mechanisms behind the degradation behavior of state-of-the-art organic solar cells. Second, we identify the differences in the contribution of the active layer materials to the phenomenon. Finally, we propose a way to more stable organic solar cells.

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Publications:

  • Doumon, N. Y.; The degradation of organic solar cells: from chemistry to device physics through materials, University of Groningen, 2019, 978-94-034-2020-2  https://doi.org/10.33612/diss.98539626

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  • Doumon, N. Y.; Houard, F. V; Dong, J.; Yao, H.; Portale, G.; Hou, J.; Koster, L. J. A. Energy level modulation of ITIC derivatives: Effects on the photodegradation of conventional and inverted organic solar cells. Org. Elec., 2019, 69, pp 255-262.​

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  • Doumon, N. Y.; Houard, F. V; J. Dong; Christodoulis, P.; Dryzhov, M. V.; G. Portale; Koster, L. J. A. Improved Photostability in Ternary Blend Organic Solar Cells: The Role of [70]PCBM. J. Mater. Chem. C 2019, 7, 5104–5111. (Editors’ choice collection on organic photovoltaics: back in the game)

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  • ​Doumon, N. Y.; Wang, G.; Qiu, X.; Minnaard, A. J.; Chiechi, R. C.; Koster, L. J. A. 1,8-Diiodooctane Acts as a Photo-Acid in Organic Solar Cells. Nature Sc. Reports, 2019, 9 (1), 4350.

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  • ​Doumon, N. Y.; Wang, G.; Chiechi, R. C.; Koster, L. J. A. Relating Polymer Chemical Structure to the Stability of Polymer:Fullerene Solar Cells. J. Mater. Chem. C 2017, 5 (26), 6611.

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