Liquid crystals in columns for flexible solar cells

Organic liquid crystals could be a substitute for silicon in future solar cells, making them more flexible and versatile. Their efficiency would be highly improved if they could be grown in columns, perpendicularly to the substrate plane. Synchrotron light allowed scientists to observe in detail the structure and spontaneous alignment of such columns of liquid crystals.

Columns of liquid-crystal phthalocyanine oriented vertically on a Teflon surface.
Inset: Characteristic six-spot X-ray diffraction pattern. (Image credit: Dimitri A. Ivanov, Institut de Chimie des Surfaces et Interfaces, CNRS UPR 9069, Mulhouse, France).

Further information:

• Ref.: R.I. Gearba et al., Advanced Materials 19, 815-820 (2007).