Why do you think your paper is highly cited?

Our paper is a review and therefore naturally tends to be cited more than original research papers would. However, it may have had an advantage in being the first review on this special topic.

 Would you summarize the significance of your paper in layman's terms?

Polymer solar cells are a new and promising technology which may, in time, compete with the known silicon-based solar cells. This is mainly because polymer solar cells are expected to become very cheap.

One of the main problems has been their short lifetime and it is therefore important to study the stability/degradation of these devices. Advances in this field have actually progressed very quickly, increasing the lifetime from minutes to more than a year under the strenuous conditions of full sun and high temperature. These advances have, at least in part, come from a scientific understanding of the degradation mechanisms.

 How did you become involved in this research, and were there any problems along the way?

Polymer solar cells have been the focus of research in our group for the past 10 years and we have witnessed a dramatic increase in activity for this field.

 Where do you see your research leading in the future?

Polymer solar cells are on the verge of becoming a commercial product and this will, of course, change the direction of the research to more production-oriented issues.

 Do you foresee any social or political implications for your research?

Research in sustainable energy has great political and environmental implications right now. Polymer solar cells could perhaps offer solutions in certain areas if the promise of a cheap, fast, and simple product is borne out.

Mikkel Jørgensen, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
Polymers for Energy Technology
Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy
Technical University of Denmark – DTU
Roskilde, Denmark
Web

KEYWORDS: DEGRADATION; STABILITY; POLYMER PHOTOVOLTAIC; ORGANIC SOLAR CELLS; MECHANISMS.