Read the Electronics Weekly focus on solar cells
Longer life organic solar cells could spring from a deal between Belgian research lab IMEC and US chemicals firm Cytec.
"Over the last few years, worldwide research on organic solar cells has mainly focused on increasing the conversion efficiency," said IMEC. "However, the operational lifetime of organic solar cells must be improved to extend beyond 5 years."
The joint programme will tackle intrinsic stability issues by stabilising the nanomorphology of the active material blend - IMEC has already shown that the blended conjugated polymers and fullerene acceptors is prone to phase segregation over time and temperature.
It will also attempt to develop barrier layers to block the ingress of oxygen and water vapour - Cytec numbers interfacial engineering and coating technology amongst its core competencies, said IMEC.
The project is part-sponsored by the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders and will run for two years.