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Organic Solar Cells - Theory and Practice

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Organic Solar Cells - Theory and Practice

Instructor: Jens Wenzel Andreasen

74,489 already enrolled

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6 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

1,239 reviews

2 weeks to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

93%

Most learners liked this course

6 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

1,239 reviews

2 weeks to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

93%

Most learners liked this course

Skills you'll gain

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Assessments

14 assignments

Taught in English

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There are 6 modules in this course

The goal of the course is to give students awareness of the largest alternative form of energy and how organic / polymer solar cells can harvest this energy. The course provides an insight into the theory behind organic solar cells and describes the three main research areas within the field i.e. materials, stability and processing.

By the end of the module we have set the following goals for you: -You should have gained knowledge on solar cells, and their place as a renewable energy -Be able to distinguish between different solar cell technologies -Describe the difference between the three generations of solar cells -Identify the four steps of life cycle analysis -Determine differences between embedded energy, energy return factor, and energy payback time.

What's included

7 videos9 readings3 assignments

7 videosTotal 52 minutes

The Instructors2 minutes
Introduction10 minutes
3 Generations of Solar Cells12 minutes
Tutorial - Introduction2 minutes
Tutorial - Terms and Abbreviations10 minutes
Life Cycle Analysis - Part I9 minutes
Life Cycle Analysis - Part II7 minutes

9 readingsTotal 81 minutes

Welcome1 minute
Terms and abbreviations10 minutes
Solar energy10 minutes
Solar cells10 minutes
Solar cells - the three generations10 minutes
Life cycle analysis10 minutes
Comparison of OPV with other technologies10 minutes
Environmental impacts of OPV10 minutes
Interpreting the results for OPV10 minutes

3 assignmentsTotal 90 minutes

Solar cells30 minutes
Getting to Know the OPV Jargon30 minutes
LCA30 minutes

By the end of this module you should: -Be able to identify the different steps in the theory behind the solar cells -Be able to measure the efficiency of a solar cell -Be able to describe the different layers in the solar cell and understand their function -Be ready to argue for different applications of the solar cells.

What's included

6 videos8 readings2 assignments

6 videosTotal 85 minutes

OPV Working Principles7 minutes
How to Characterize Solar Cells4 minutes
Tutorial - IV Curves7 minutes
Layers in the Solar Cell7 minutes
Applications4 minutes
Recorded Live Session I56 minutes

8 readingsTotal 80 minutes

Polymer solar cells10 minutes
Why polymer solar cells10 minutes
How to messure solar cells10 minutes
Incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE)10 minutes
How do polymer solar cells work10 minutes
The layer stack10 minutes
Tandem Solar Cells10 minutes
Suggested Materials10 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 60 minutes

Determine Solar Cell Parameters30 minutes
Working Principles30 minutes

By the end of this module you should: -Know why we need conjugated polymers and side chains -Know about low band gap polymers -Be able to identify the most common polymerization methods -Be familiar with common characterization techniques used with the materials -Know about acceptor materials used in the active layer of organic solar cells.

What's included

6 videos10 readings3 assignments

6 videosTotal 103 minutes

Materials in the Active Layer9 minutes
Polymers7 minutes
Synthesis7 minutes
Characterization of Polymers7 minutes
Examples from Literature6 minutes
Recorded Live Session II65 minutes

10 readingsTotal 100 minutes

Conjugated polymers10 minutes
Side chains10 minutes
Important materials10 minutes
Suggested Materials10 minutes
Polymer synthesis10 minutes
Purification10 minutes
UV-vis spectroscopy10 minutes
Electrochemical measurements10 minutes
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)10 minutes
Size exclusion chromatography10 minutes

3 assignmentsTotal 90 minutes

Materials30 minutes
Polymerization30 minutes
Characterization30 minutes

By the end of this module you should: -Be able to identify different kinds of degradation behaviours -Know about decay curves, including concepts such as burn-in and T80 -Distinguish between different ISOS standards.

What's included

7 videos9 readings3 assignments

7 videosTotal 107 minutes

Stability and Degradation - Introduction8 minutes
Decay Curves6 minutes
ISOS Standards12 minutes
Stability Examples7 minutes
Morphological Stability 4 minutes
Electrical Defects9 minutes
Recorded Live Session III61 minutes

9 readingsTotal 90 minutes

Degradation and stability10 minutes
Morphological stability10 minutes
Suggested Materials10 minutes
Suggested Materials10 minutes
ISOS standards10 minutes
Morphological stability10 minutes
Flexibility and delamination10 minutes
Polymer stability10 minutes
LBIC10 minutes

3 assignmentsTotal 90 minutes

Decay Curves30 minutes
ISOS30 minutes
Stability and Degradation30 minutes

By the end of this module you will be able to: -Describe the lab scale techniques and the pros and cons -Describe the difference between coating and printing -Identify the different coating and printing techniques.

What's included

7 videos12 readings2 assignments

7 videosTotal 103 minutes

Coating - Part I10 minutes
Coating - Part II5 minutes
Printing - Part I6 minutes
Printing - Part II14 minutes
Upscaling13 minutes
Testing and Encapsulation8 minutes
Recorded Live Session IV47 minutes

12 readingsTotal 120 minutes

Spin coating10 minutes
Blade coating10 minutes
Spray coating10 minutes
Slot die coating10 minutes
Screen printing10 minutes
Flexographic printing10 minutes
Gravure printing10 minutes
Inkjet10 minutes
Lab scale fabrication10 minutes
Roll-to-roll (R2R) manufacturing10 minutes
Inks10 minutes
Suggested Materials10 minutes

2 assignmentsTotal 42 minutes

Coating30 minutes
Printing12 minutes

This is the final module of the course and it is almost time to sit back and congratulate yourself! You just have two more videos and an exam to complete.

What's included

3 videos1 reading1 assignment

Instructor

Instructor ratings

(156 ratings)

Jens Wenzel Andreasen

Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

3 Courses140,296 learners

Offered by

Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

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Reviewed on Oct 17, 2015

Great course, lots of material but really well presented. Touches all aspects of the organic solar cell production and the physical and chemical fundamentals behind it.

Reviewed on Apr 20, 2017

I feel like the courses have been too close to the information you can get through their linked website. I think this is overall a very good introduction and was very helpful.

Reviewed on Nov 11, 2018

At first, there was a lot of chemistry which scared me a bit but I like how it was really linked to engineering. I loved it. I got exactly what I wanted to know about OPV technology.

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Frequently asked questions

Organic Solar Cells - Theory and Practice is a specialized course on organic solar cells. If you are looking for a more general course we can strongly recommend Introduction to solar cells (https://www.coursera.org/learn/solar-cells). as an alternative

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When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.