Merck KGaA, Germany, and Nano-C, Inc., USA, have signed a collaboration agreement to jointly develop and commercialize advanced semiconducting materials and formulations for applications in organic photovoltaics (OPV).

The collaboration will target the development of material systems to go beyond the performance limitations of current-generation OPV materials. It will bring together Merck’s extensive experience with organic semiconducting materials and Nano-C’s unique know-how and intellectual property in fullerene derivatives. Novel material concepts produced using intelligent design will enable power conversion efficiency values in excess of 10 %, thereby creating new and broader market interest in organic photovoltaic technologies.

• Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
• Nano-C, Inc., Westwood, Ma, USA