FACULTY & STAFF
Prof. Geneviève Sauvé

Geneviève Sauvé

Assistant Professor
Materials and Energy

E-mail: genevieve.sauve@case.edu

Ph. D. California Institute of Technology, 1999
Senior Development Chemist, PPG Industries, 1999-2000
Postdoctoral Fellow, Carnegie Mellon University, 2002-2005
Research Associate, Carnegie Mellon University, 2005-2008
Visiting Scientist, Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy, 2008-2009

Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces Fellowship, 2008
DAAD Faculty Research Visit Grant to Germany, 2009



Materials for Plastic Solar Cells

Plastic solar cells have the potential to become a disruptive solar technology – “solar paint” -- that is inexpensive, efficient, and mass produced. My main research interest is to understand and improve organic solar cells by synthesizing new materials and testing them in solar cells. The information is used to better design new materials and new fabrication processes. Our research is multidisciplinary and we collaborate with a wide range of research groups. To improve the efficiency of plastic solar cells, many parameters must be optimized simultaneously. In our research, we focus on two critical parameters:
  1. Optimize the energy levels between electron donor and electron acceptor to minimize energy losses and maximize the open circuit voltage (Voc). Several efforts have been aimed at optimizing the energy levels of the electron-donor conjugated polymer when paired with PCBM as the electron acceptor. However, very little has been done in the design, synthesis and optimization of the energy levels of the electron acceptor material. Here, we develop conjugated polymer electron acceptors with high electron mobility and tunable energy levels.

  2. Understand and control nanoscale morphology. One must create an intimate nanoscale contact between a donor and an acceptor (to separate charges) while ensuring chemical connectivity within each donor and each acceptor stack (to collect charges to electrodes). Here, we explore the use of novel diblock copolymers to control nano-structures. We are interested in self-assembly, supramolecular chemistry and the lamination fabrication method. The morphology is characterized using a variety of microscopy techniques, and is related to device performance.



Materials for printable transistors

We focus our research on solution-processable n-type conjugated polymers.  Great progress has been made over the past twenty years in the development of p-type organic semiconductors, but to enable plastic electronics with low power consumption, n-type organic semiconductors are also required. While several vacuum sublimed molecules have shown high electron mobilities, the number of solution-processable conjugated polymers with good electron transport properties is very limited.  We are therefore interested in designing polymers with high electron mobility by optimizing self-assembly at the interface in field-effect transistors.



Research Interests

organic solar cells, organic photovoltaics, conjugated polymers, diblock copolymers, electron acceptors, synthesis, materials, film formation, morphology, nano-structure, self-assembly, lamination, device fabrication, device performance, energy, organic field-effect transistors, physical chemistry, charge transport, nanoscience



Selected Publications:

For a more complete list of publications: Sauvé CV (pdf)