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Josh Speros

University of St. Thomas; 2008
B.S. Chemistry

Email: sper0055@umn.edu

Research: Low Band Gap Polymers for the Improvement of Organic Photovoltaics

Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) represent an emerging class of devices that promise many improvements over traditional silicon-based solar cells. However, these devices have yet to achieve efficiencies comparable to their inorganic counterparts. As such, my research hopes to address and improve the principal component of OPVs—the active layer. We will utilize organic synthesis to generate novel low band gap polymers. In particular, these polymers will have a variety of substituent groups and architectures allowing for tailorable electronic properties (e.g. band gap) and improved device performance.