Dr. Niko Van den Brande

I graduated as a master in chemistry at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in 2009. For my master thesis I worked on carbon nanotube polymer composites both at the FYSC and General Chemistry (ALGC) research groups. Later in 2009 I started working as a PhD candidate under the supervision of prof. B. Van Mele, also in collaboration with the ALGC research group. For my PhD I investigated the active layer of bulk-heterojunction organic photovoltaics using a combination of advanced thermal analysis techniques such as chip calorimetry and rapid heat-cool differential scanning calorimetry (RHC), surface characterisation under the form of atomic force microscopy (AFM), and ab initio computational chemistry techniques such as density functional theory (DFT). I succesfully concluded my PhD in 2015. I obtained a BAEF fellowship for a one-year (2016-2017) stay in the Ediger group of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA), after which I resumed working as a postdoctoral researcher in FYSC on the characterisation of thin layers.
Selected Projects

RAtional DEsign of blends for bulk heterojunction SOLar cells (RADESOL)
The main goal of the project is to unravel nanomorphology formation at the molecular level and its effect on device performance beyond the state-of-the-art by an integrated experimental effort and a unique combination of equipment and expertises, aiming at the study of blends via advanced thermal analysis, solid-state NMR, and X-ray diffraction and ptychography 3D imaging techniques, combined ...

Nanostructuring, morphological stability, and mechanism of charge transfer in conjugated polymer/fullerene blends for organic photovoltaic cells. An experimental and theoretical study
The aim of this project is to contribute to the fundamental insights into the mechanisms and criteria that affect the efficiency and stability of 'exciton' solar cells, based on the 'bulk heterojunction' concept. In this type of photovoltaic cells, foto-induced excitons (hole-electron pairs) that are formed in a donor phase of a phase separated system, must diffuse towards the (nano)interface ...
Molecular mixing in bulk heterojunction organic solar cells - nanomorphology vs performance
The photovoltaic behavior of organic bulk heterojunction (BHJ) blends of conjugated (donor) polymers and fullerene (acceptor) derivatives has been subject of many studies in fundamental chemistry and physics since its initial discovery in 1995. From the general understanding at this moment, the nanomorphology of the active layer blend seems to be crucial. The latter is the result of a complex ...
Selected Publications
Courses

Polymer Materials
Course in polymer science. Structure-property relations in polymers.