Resumen de Organic and hybrid optoelectronic devices: understanding key loss mechanisms.

James William Ryan

• This thesis sets to understand key limiting steps in organic solar cells (OSCs) and hybrid organic-inorganic light-emitting diodes (HyLEDs) and to provide routes to more environmentally friendly and lower cost devices. As well as studying organic optoelectronic devices, hybrid organic-inorganic approaches are also explored from both a fundamental point of view (quantum dot/organic solar cells) to a more technological one (air-stable, low cost light emitting diodes). The origin of the opencircuit voltage in bilayer solar cells is studied using transient optoelectronic techniques to probe the charge distribution in the active layer and the lifetime of charge carriers under working conditions. Furthermore, these techniques are applied to hybrid quantum dot/organic bilayer solar cells and provide a quantitative analysis of the non-geminate recombination in the device and its influence on the open-circuit voltage. The thesis also explores the use of water-soluble donors for OSCs and led to first true water-soluble donor.