As contemplated herein, the adhesive removal in step 230 may employ any standard techniques understood by those skilled in the art. In some embodiments, the adhesive-bound active layer is cooled, such as to room temperature, prior to removal of the adhesive. In some embodiments, the adhesive is removed slowly and gentle. In some embodiments, the adhesive is removed with a constant force. In some embodiments, the adhesive is removed via pulling the adhesive in a constant vector.

In some embodiments, the step of removing the adhesive from the adhesive-bound active layer may further comprise the step of removing at least a portion of the at least one small molecule component from the surface of the pristine active layer to produce a surface-modified active layer. In one embodiment, the step of removing the adhesive from the adhesive-bound active layer further comprises the step of removing at least 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, or 70% of the at least one small molecule component from the surface of the pristine active layer. In one embodiment, the step of removing the adhesive from the adhesive-bound active layer further comprises the step of removing between 50% and 70% of the at least one small molecule component from the surface of the pristine active layer. In one embodiment, the step of removing the adhesive from the adhesive-bound active layer further comprises the step of removing about 67% of the at least one small molecule component from the surface of the pristine active layer.

Underwater Solar Cells

The present invention relates in part to a method of converting light into electrical energy, the method comprising the step of providing a photovoltaic device comprising an active layer described herein; exposing the photovoltaic device to light; and producing electrical energy.