EIFFEL’s aim is to recruit and train 10 talented Doctoral Candidates (DCs) who, in the framework of their doctoral training programmes, will work on 10 individual projects in research institutions and universities in Europe. To apply for a position as a Doctoral Candidate please go to “Jobs”
Project 1 „Environmental stability of fullerene-free photovoltaic devices”
Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (IFW, in Germany)
Project 1 „Environmental stability of fullerene-free photovoltaic devices” supervised by Prof. Vaynzof and Prof. Pchenitchnikov will be focused on identification of the degradation mechanisms and the resultant degradation products that dominate the performance loss of fullerene-free solar cells upon exposure to environmental factors (e.g. O2, H2O) and thermal/light (spectrally resolved) induced stress and their impact on device photophysics.
Project 2 “Recombination mechanisms in fullerene-free photovoltaic devices”
Technical University of Chemnitz (TUC, in Germany)
Project 2 “Recombination mechanisms in fullerene-free photovoltaic devices” supervised by Prof. Deibel and Prof. Vaynzof will be focused on fundamental characterisation techniques for solar cell devices, in particular optoelectronic frequency domain methods as well as sensitive photovoltaic subgap quantum efficiency and electroluminescence spectroscopy, to study radiative nonradiative recombination of charge carriers in NFA OSCs.
Project 3 “Comprehensive modelling of voltage losses in fullerene-free photovoltaic devices”
Universite de Mons (UMONS, in Belgium)
Project 3 “Comprehensive modelling of voltage losses in fullerene-free photovoltaic devices” supervised by Prof. Beljonne and Dr. Walzer will be focused on the use of a multifaceted modelling protocol to assess radiative and non-radiative voltage losses in non-fullerene acceptor (NFAs) based organic solar cells.
Project 4 “Basic photophysics of new NFA materials”
Rijksuniversiteit Gronningen (UG, in the Netherlands)
Project 4 “Basic photophysics of new NFA materials” supervised by Prof. Pchenitchnikov and Prof. Blanchard will be focused on spectroscopy of photovoltaic materials and the study of time-resolved photoluminescence and exciton diffusion in solutions, solid-state matrices and photovoltaic blends. This information will be used for feedback to chemistry groups in WP1 to adjust their materials toward desired properties.
Project 5 “Synthesis and test of vacuum-processable non-fullerene acceptors”
Heliatek GmbH (HTK, in Germany)
Project 5 “Synthesis and test of vacuum-processable non-fullerene acceptors” supervised by Dr. Hildebrandt and Prof. Blanchard will be focused on organic synthesis and the required analytical methods to characterise the outcome of the synthesis work, including NMR, HPLC-MS, DSC, TGA, and optical spectroscopy. Beside synthesis, it will aim at structure motives are suitable for achieving aligned energy levels and to preserve the required thermal stability for the vacuum deposition.
Project 6 “Ternary mixing for organic photovoltaics with panchromatic absorption and improved stability”
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC, in Spain)
Project 6 “Ternary mixing for organic photovoltaics with panchromatic absorption and improved stability” supervised by Dr. Burgués-Ceballos will be focused on the potential of solar cells with active layers based on ternary blends for the simultaneous improvement of efficiency and stability. The training will aim in state-of-the-art solution-processing technologies for the fabrication of lab-scale organic solar cells and modules using novel non-fullerene acceptors.
Project 7 “Microstructure, nanomorphology formation and stability of non-fullerene acceptor active layer”
Agencia Estatal Consejo de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC, in Spain)
Project 7 “Microstructure, nanomorphology formation and stability of non-fullerene acceptor active layer” supervised by Dr. E. Barrena and Dr. Eduardo Solano will be focused on in-situ scanning probe microscopy with environmental control and real-time x-ray diffraction studies for investigating the microstructure and nanomorphology of solution-processed non-fullerene acceptor active layers (phase separation, crystalline order etc) and monitor their stability under thermal annealing and moisture/oxygen exposure. Induced changes in the interface energetics will be addressed.
Project 8 “Synthesis and characterization of functionalized NFAs for solution-processed sq-BHJ and BHJ OSCs”
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, in France)
Project 8 “Synthesis and characterization of functionalized NFAs for solution-processed sq-BHJ and BHJ OSCs” supervised by Dr. Blanchard and Prof. Koutentis will be focused organic synthesis and analytical methods, including NMR, MS, X-ray diffraction, thermal characterisation, optical spectroscopy and electrochemistry. Preparation and characterisation of thin films and OPV devices will also be carried out for preliminary evaluations of news materials as NFAs.
Project 9 “Roll-to-roll printing of soluble non-fullerene acceptors for stable organic solar cells”
Infinity PV APS (infinity PV, in Denmark)
Project 9 “Roll-to-roll printing of soluble non-fullerene acceptors for stable organic solar cells” supervised by Dr. Krebs and Prof. Vaynzof will be focused on n industrially relevant roll-to-roll fabrication of organic solar cells using the novel NFAs investigated in EIFFEL, investigate their performance and compare their lifetime to existing state-of-the-art fullerene-based OSCs.
Project 10 “Synthesis of small molecule non fullerene acceptors for vacuum deposition studies”
University of Cyprus (UCY, in Cyprus)
Project 10 “Synthesis of small molecule non fullerene acceptors for vacuum deposition studies” supervised by Prof. Koutentis and Dr. Hildebrandt will be focused on heterocyclic synthesis and organic small molecule characterisation methods (NMR, MS, FTIR, UV-vis).