MSE 871: Polymer Engineering

Week # 2:
Fundamental of Polymer Engineering: Challenges,
needs and Opportunities
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 Major Areas: Current and Future
Materials Science and Engineering???
Energy
Water
Health
Environment

Let us review the role of Polymers for

these major areas!

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 Scope of Polymeric Materials
e.g. Conductive Polymers

Electronics of the 20th Century is Based on

 The
Semiconductor Physics.

 TheElectronics of the 21st Century will be Based on

Molecular Physics/Chemistry.

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 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2000
“For the Discovery and Development of Conductive Polymers”

Hideki Shirakawa
University of Tsukuba

Alan Heeger Alan MacDiarmid

University of California University of
at Santa Barbara Pennsylvania
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Known Structures: Poly(acetylene) or Polyethyne made from
acetylene monomer

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 Overview of some of the potential applications of conducting polymers in
microelectronics.

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 A bit of history
 Discovered in late 1970’s by Heager, Shirakawa, and MacDiarmid
 Before that polymers were used ad insulator in electronic industry
 Advantages over conductors
 Chemical: ion transport possible; redox behavior; Catalytic properties;
Electrochemical effects; Photoactivity; Junction effect;
 Others: Light-weight; corroision resitant; felxible;non-metallic

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 Conducting Polymers

 Polymers are typically utilized in electrical and electronic

applications as insulators where advantage is taken of their
very high resistivities.

 Typical properties of polymeric materials:

 Strength, flexibility, elasticity, stability, mouldability, ease of
handling, etc.

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 Photovoltaics (“PV”)

 The conversion of light into electricity

 Silent, no maintenance, no fuel, no emissions
 The lowest cost option for remote applications
 Recognized as part of the solution to the global need for electricity
and clean energy
 Generator of Choice for >2 billion people
 Option for all of us

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 Organic Photovoltaic Materials
 Organic electronic materials are conjugated solids where both
optical absorption and charge transport are dominated by
partly delocalised p and p* orbitals.

 Candidates for photovoltaic applications include

 crystalline or polycrystalline films of 'small molecules'
(conjugated molecules of molecular weight of a few 100),
 amorphous films of small molecules prepared by vacuum
deposition or solution processing,
 films of conjugated polymers or oligomers processed from
solution, and combinations of any of these either with other
organic solids or with inorganic materials.

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 Global Demand for Energy
100,000
Electricity Consumption per capita (kWh)

U.S.

10,000
Global Average (2050 Target)

Minimum Consumption China

(2050 Target)

1,000

India

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1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
Year
Source: EPRI, US DOE 2000
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 Technology & IP

PV Technologies

 Crystalline Silicon on Glass

 1st generation (developed in the 70s) semiconductor
wafer in glass, complex manufacturing process

 Thin Film (majority on glass)

 2nd generation (developed in the 80s)
requires low-pressure, high-temperature film deposition,
expensive packaging, complex manufacturing process

 Polymers & Nanomaterials

 3rd generation (developed in the 90s)
uses photoactive dyes, conducting polymers, high-speed
manufacturing process at low temperature, low cost
materials, scaleable

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 Photovoltaic Nanotech Companies
 Nanosolar – nanoparticles (20 - 40nm)
 Titania - dye sensitized
 Hitachi-Maxell
 Titania – dye sensitized
 Nanosys – quantum dots (<10nm)
 CdSe, PbS
 Evident Technologies – quantum dots (<10nm)
 CdSe, PbS

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 Technology & IP

Vision: Light-weight, Flexible Photovoltaics

Plastic Transparent Conductor Active Layer

0.010
inches

Counter Electrode Plastic or Metal foil

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 Technology & IP

Polymer Cell Schematic

Transparent substrate

Transparent substrate

Light
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 Technology & IP

Complementary Materials Platforms

Dye-Sensitized Conducting
Titania Hybrid Polymers
(Go-To-Market) (R&D)

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First Products

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 Portable Applications

Personal LAN Appliances

Self-charging battery
Wireless instrumentation

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 Conductive Core

Dyed, sintered Titania

Product Vision-
Solid State Electrolyte
Photovoltaic
Transparent Cathode
Fibers*
Transparent Insulator
POS NEG POS

NEG POS NEG

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 Coating Production Process
Applicable to all Materials Platforms

 “Roll-to-roll” on plastic

 Continuous coating

 Utilize existing plants

(corporate partners)

 Conventional methods

 No capacity constraints

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 Technology Benchmark and Goals
20% Polymer PV Polycrystalline
Future Si

15%
Efficiency

DSSC PV
Future
10%

DSSC PV Thin Film

5%
Polymer PV Today Amorphous Si
Today

Low High
$/Watt

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 Conclusions

Possible Commercial Cost Advantage

1st Gen. 2nd Gen.

Direct Mfg. Cost ($/W)

3rd Gen.

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Range of Possible Gen 1 and 2 Direct Manufacturing Costs Achievable by 2010 - Source: A.D. Little
Students’s Query

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