Light-to-Energy Conversion in Organic Solar Cells and Molecular Motors

In recent decades, remarkable research efforts have been dedicated to developing artificial material systems that convert light into other desirable forms of energy, be they electrical, mechanical, or chemical. This thesis focuses on the first two classes of such systems: organic solar cells and light-driven molecular motors.

Organic solar cells based on organic materials convert sunlight into electricity. They hold great potential because of their unique properties, such as flexibility, semitransparency and low weight. However, understanding the light-to-electricity conversion process is crucial to improve their performance further. This is the focus of the first part of the thesis.

Light-driven molecular motors exhibiting autonomous motion in a unidirectional manner have shown great potential in materials science, catalyst and biology. However, they typically operate under ultraviolet–blue light, which may be detrimental to the surrounding (bio)environment. In addition, for practical applications, it is highly desirable to track the motor’s location with photoluminescence microscopy. In the second part of
this thesis, the functionality of several molecular motors operating under red or nearinfrared light and capable of photoluminescence is demonstrated using ultrafast optical spectroscopy.

Overall, this thesis provides new insight into light-to-electricity conversion in highperformance organic solar cells and opens up exciting prospects for using artificial molecular motors in biological settings and soft materials