This National Science Foundation (NSF) Project Grant award under the NSF Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) aims to advance organic solar cell (OSC) technology by developing greener manufacturing processes using eco-friendly, biomass-derived solvents. The $286,982 award to the University of Kentucky Research Foundation will fund research to design and synthesize zwitterionically functionalized polymers and molecules that can be processed using the solvents cyrene and gamma-valerolactone. The researchers will use a combination of computational modeling and experimental efforts to understand how the zwitterionic sidechains impact solubility and assembly of these materials, with the goal of enabling high-performance OSCs with power conversion efficiencies exceeding 15%. This project will also provide training opportunities for graduate students and outreach activities to promote diversity in STEM. The award commenced on August 1, 2024 and is scheduled to be completed by July 31, 2027.
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