Optimisation of the dark and photovoltaic properties of Schottky junctionsbetween aluminium and conjugated polymers

The behaviour of ITO/poly(4,4'-dipentoxy-2,2'-bithiophene) and ITO/poly(3-b utylthiophene)/Al Schottky junctions has been investigated in the dark and under white light illumination, both in the air and under dry argon flux. B oth systems exhibit a battery in the dark and photoelectrochemical processe s under illumination, when tested in wet atmosphere. The more hydrophobic s tructure, the polyPT4-based one, was found to be less affected by the ionic conductivity induced by the water absorbed from the environment and the al uminium oxidation.