Assessment of optical and thermal properties of polyimide/metal oxide composites for photovoltaic uses

• Published in: Bulletin of materials science 2023-01, Vol.46 (1), p.18, Article 18
• Main Authors: Barzic, Andreea Irina, Diaconu, Alexandra-Diana, Condurache, Bogdan-Constantin, Soroceanu, Marius, Albu, Raluca Marinica, Stoica, Iuliana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atoms & subatomic particles; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composite materials; Diamines; Dianhydrides; Efficiency; Engineering; Fillers; Heat resistance; Materials Science; Metal oxides; Molecular conformation; Optical properties; Photovoltaic cells; Polyimide resins; Polymers; Refractivity; Symmetry; Thermal expansion; Thermodynamic properties; Three dimensional imaging; Titanium dioxide; Zinc oxide
• ISSN: 0973-7669; 0250-4707; 0973-7669
• DOI: 10.1007/s12034-023-02889-4

Novel polyimide/metal oxide composites are theoretically designed for analysis of their applicative potential as covers for photovoltaic devices. The polymer matrix is made of a common sulphone-containing aromatic diamine combined with certain cycloaliphatic dianhydrides, rendering new polymer structures. The polymer conformations and chain polarizability are affected by the matrix structure and filler loading. Optical and thermal properties of the proposed materials are described by the approach of connectivity index and group contribution method. The dianhydride moiety influenced the magnitude of refractive index, revealing that its bulkiness, asymmetry and flexibility lead to larger n -values, hence lowering the optical losses at the interface with ZnO layer from the photovoltaic cell. The presence of TiO 2 filler in these polyimides upgrades matching of the refractive and coefficient of thermal expansion with those of the neighbouring ZnO layer, improving the device reliability.