Nanoparticle Encapsulation and Aggregation Control in Anti-reflection Coatings and Organic Photovoltaics

Autor: Metzman, Jonathan Seth
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Druh dokumentu: Dissertation
Popis: Nanoparticles present a myriad of physical, optical, electrical, and chemical properties that provide valuable functionality to thin-film technologies. In order to successfully exploit these aspects of nanoparticles, appropriate dispersion and stability measures must be implemented. In this dissertation, different types of nanoparticles are coated with polymer and metallic layers to enable their effectiveness in both anti-reflection coatings (ARCs) and organic photovoltaics (OPVs). Ionic self-assembled multilayers (ISAMs) fabrication of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) results in highly-transparent, porous ARCs. However, the ionic bonding and low contact area between the film constituents lack sufficient mechanical and chemical stability necessary for commercial application. Chemical stability was established in the film by the encapsulation of SiO2 NPs by a photo-crosslinkable polyelectrolyte, diazo-resin (DAR) to make modified silica nanoparticles (MSNPs). UV-irradiation induced decomposition of the diazonium group and the development of covalent bonds with polyanions. Crosslinked MSNP/poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) ISAMs exhibited excellent anti-reflectivity (transmittance >98%, reflectance
Ph. D.
Investigations are presented on the quality of distribution or dispersion of functional inorganic (composed of silicon dioxide or silver) particles that have dimensions of less than 100 nanometers, called nanoparticles. The nanoparticle surfaces were covered with polymer layers, where polymers are organic materials with repeating molecular structures. The study of these nanoparticle distribution effects were first examined in anti-reflection coatings (ARCs). ARCs induce transparency of windows or glasses through a reduction in the reflection of light. Here, the ARCs were fabricated as self-assembled thin-films (films with thicknesses ranging from 1 to 2000 nanometers). The self-assembly process here was carried out by immersing a charged substrate (microscope slide) into a solution with an oppositely-charged material. The attraction of the material to the substrate leads to thin-film growth. The process can continue by sequentially immersing the thin-film into oppositely-charged solutions for a desired number of thin-film layers. This technique is called ionic self-assembled multilayers (ISAMs). ARCs created by ISAM with charged polymers (polyelectrolytes) and silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) can lead to highly-transparent films, but unfortunately, they lack the stability and scratch-resistance necessary for commercial applications. In this dissertation, we address the lack of stability in the ISAM ARCs by adding additional polyelectrolyte layers that can develop strong, covalent bonds, while also examining nanoparticle dispersive properties. First, SiO2 NP surfaces were coated in solution with a polyelectrolyte called diazo-resin, which can form covalent bonds by UV-light exposure of the film. After tuning the concentration for the added diazo-resin, the coated SiO2 NPs were used to make ARCs ISAM films. The ARCs had excellent nanoparticle dispersion, high levels of transparency, and chemical stability. Chemically stability entails that the integrity of the film was unaffected by exposure to polar organic solvents or strong polyelectrolytes. In a second method, two additional v polyelectrolyte layers were added into the original polyelectrolyte/SiO2 NP design. Here, heating of the film to 200 oC temperatures induced strong covalent bonding between the polyelectrolytes. Variation of the solution pH dramatically changed the polyelectrolyte thickness, the nanoparticle dispersion, the scratch-resistance, and the anti-reflection. An optimum trade-off was discovered at a pH of 5.2, where the anti-reflection was excellent (amount of transmitted light over 99%), along with a substantially improved scratch-resistance. A change of pH from 6.0 (highest tested pH) to 5.2 (optimal) caused a difference in the scratch-resistance by a factor of seven. In these findings, we introduce stability enhancing properties from films composed purely of polyelectrolytes into nanoparticle-containing ISAM films. We also show that a simple adjustment of solution parameters, such as the pH value, can cause substantial differences in the film properties. Nanoparticle dispersion properties were next investigated in organic photovoltaics (OPVs) OPVs use semiconducting polymers to convert sunlight into usable electricity. They have many advantages over traditional solar cells, including their simple processing, low-cost, flexibility, and lightweight. However, OPVs are limited by their total optical absorption or the amount of light that can potentially be converted to electricity. The addition of plasmonic nanoparticles into an OPV device is a suitable way to increase optical absorption without changing the other device properties. Plasmonic nanoparticles, which are composed of noble metals (such as silver or gold), act as “light antennas” that concentrate incoming light and radiate it around the particle. In this dissertation, we investigate the dispersion and stability effects of polymer or metallic layers on silver nanoplates (AgNPs). The stability of the AgNPs was found to be greatly enhanced by coating the nanoparticle edges with a thin gold layer (AuAgNPs). AuAgNPs could then be introduced into a conductive, acidic layer of the OPVs (PEDOT:PSS) to increase the overall light absorption, which otherwise would be impossible with uncoated AgNPs. Next, the AgNPs were distributed on top of the photoactive layer or the layer that is responsible for absorbing light. Coating the AgNPs with a polystyrene polymer layer (PS-AgNPs) allowed for excellent dispersion on this layer and contrastingly, dispersion of the uncoated AgNPs was poor. An increased amount PS-AgNPs added on top of the photoactive layer progressively increased the optical absorption of the OPV devices. However, trends were quite different for the power conversion efficiency or the ratio of electricity power to sunlight power in the OPV device. The greatest PCE enhancements (27 – 32%) were found at a relatively low coverage level (using a solution concentration of 0.29 to 0.57 nM) of the PS-AgNPs on the photoactive layer.
Databáze: Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations
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