Philippe Leclere1,Van Dang Tran1,Sy Pham1
University of Mons1
Philippe Leclere1,Van Dang Tran1,Sy Pham1
University of Mons1
The recent development of alternative sources of energy to fossil ones will play a crucial role in global electricity generation and should be one of the global strategies to reduce CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and stop climate change. To develop efficient and competitive modern electronics from semiconducting (organic, inorganic, or hybrid) materials for energy conversion and storage (flexible) devices, it is essential to understand the relationships between molecular architecture, supramolecular organization, microscopic morphologies, and optoelectronic properties in detail.<br/>By using AFM-derived techniques (such as Conducting AFM, Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy – KPFM, and Scanning Microwave Impedance Microscopy - sMIM), electrical properties can be measured at the local scale (together with the morphological and mechanical characterization of the samples) helping the optimization of the device performances. For instance, for photovoltaic organic devices, we can spatially resolve by KPFM the surface photo-voltage in high-efficiency nanoscale phase segregated photovoltaic blends of conjugated polymers. We show on poly(thiophene)-based organic and hybrid systems how the lateral resolution in KPFM and in the photo(conducting) AFM can allow direct visualization of the carrier generation at the donor-acceptor interfaces and their transport through the percolation pathways in the nanometer range.<br/>In fine, to fabricate flexible devices, we considered the high performances of flexible Transparent Conductive Electrodes (TCEs) based on silver nanowires (AgNWs) percolation networks. With optimized experimental conditions for the deposition, the AgNWs-based electrodes show low sheet resistance of 10 Ohm/sq combined to a high optical transmittance of 92.6% at λ = 550 nm. This leads to a valuable figure of merit as compared to other TCE's and the electrodes were successfully used for flexible organic and perovskite-based solar cells and light-emitting diodes.