Annealing effect of hybrid solar cells based on poly (3-hexylthiophene) and zinc-oxide nanostructures

Motaung, David E.; Malgas, Gerald F.; Ray, Suprakas Sinha; Arendse, Christopher J.

doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2013.04.037

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 42 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…36 Already a lot of work has been performed on ZnO-based devices where many researchers replaced fullerenes completely by ZnO (synthesized ex situ or in situ, rod shaped or tetra-pod) as an electron acceptor without considerable signicant results being obtained. 37,38 Moreover, ZnO-graphene has been used as an electron acceptor with P3HT 39 reporting the PCE of 0.98% and also as a buffer layer in an inverted solar cell 33 with an enhanced efficiency of 4.15%. The novelty of our work lies on the surfactant-free synthesis of hydrophobic ZnO nanoparticles (and ZnO-graphene nanocomposite) for better charge transportation in polymer solar cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

ZnO anchored graphene hydrophobic nanocomposite-based bulk heterojunction solar cells showing enhanced short-circuit current

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hydrophobic and surfactant-free ZnO nanoparticles and ZnO decorated graphene nanocomposite (Z@G) with narrow and uniform size distribution were synthesized by a time-efficient microwave-assisted hydrothermal reaction that can be used specifically for application in hybrid photovoltaics. The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles and Z@G nanocomposite showed stable and clear dispersion in chloroform and methanol (with volume ratio of 9 : 1) and chloroform and ethanol (volume ratio 9 : 1).Being hydrophobic, these inorganic samples blend very well with organic polymer solution in chlorobenzene, which is a prerequisite to cast smooth and undisrupted film for hybrid solar cell application. The introduction of these hydrophobic nanoparticles into PCPDTBT:PCBM-based bulkheterojunction polymer solar cells resulted in significant improvement in solar cell J-V characteristics with enhancement in open circuit voltage (V OC ), short circuit current density (J SC ) and thereby overall improvement in cell efficiency. With the optimization of the weight ratio of polymer, fullerene and synthesized ZnO nanoparticles/Z@G nanocomposite, the power conversion efficiencies 1.76% and 3.65% were achieved.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

ZnO anchored graphene hydrophobic nanocomposite-based bulk heterojunction solar cells showing enhanced short-circuit current

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Additionally, the bumpy surface also scatters light away from the device. Previous studies reported that the rough surface reduces the efficiency of organic solar cells due to the formation of shunts . Since the resistance of the active layer is inversely related to the BHJ OPV mobility, and care should be taken in measuring mobilities due to a strong dependence on electric field , in order to further validate the effect of the additional electron acceptor (ZnO) on the P3HT:PCBM interface, the shunt resistance ( R Sh ) and series resistance ( R S ) of the solar cell were extracted from the slope of the J–V curves for inspection and are listed in Table .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of additional electron acceptor in hybrid P3HT:PCBM:ZnO spin‐coated films for photovoltaic application

Muller

Ramashia

Motaung

et al. 2016

Physica Status Solidi (a)

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Concerted efforts need to be undertaken to overcome limited efficiencies and instability issues in order to ensure a niche for organic photovoltaics (OPVs) in the PV market. Recent improvements on tandem structures aside, in order to achieve further improvements it is sensible to construct test-case scenarios on bulk heterojunction cells. One aspect, involving the low mobility of charge carriers, caused by the short exciton diffusion length in the active layer, has been targeted. In this regard, attempts to incorporate inorganic semiconductors into organic blends in hybrid organic solar cells, in various configurations, have so far been promising. In this work, ZnO nanoparticles were mixed into the poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT):[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) blend, and used as additional acceptors of electrons in the active layer. Metal-oxide interface layers between the active layer and ITO and the top contact layer, respectively, were introduced in the solar cell to compensate for environmental degradation. Thermo-gravimetric analyses of the active layers revealed improved thermal stability of P3HT upon incorporating ZnO in the polymer matrix. The photovoltaic properties demonstrated that the addition of ZnO nanoparticles in the P3HT:PCBM bulk-heterojunction solar cell causes an increase in the power conversion efficiency, while excessive loading of ZnO decreases the efficiency.

show abstract

“…These common solution processes generally produce CP ultrathin films with a low self-assembly degree and poor compactness, resulting in a very poor electrical performance. Annealing is a common posttreatment method for CP films to improve the crystalline structures. – However, the strong interaction between the substrate and CP makes the molecular chains hardly diffuse in ultrathin films with a thickness less than 10 nm, resulting in annealing only minorly improving the microstructures of CP ultrathin films. In summary, modulating the microstructure of CP ultrathin films to reach a balance between crystalline and amorphous structures, which seems to be ideal for achieving both good mechanical and electrical properties, is difficult.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Simple Method to Tailor the Electrical and Tensile Properties of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Ultrathin Films

Shan,

Wang,

et al. 2023

ACS Appl. Polym. Mater.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Conjugated polymer (CP) ultrathin films are promising candidates for flexible electronics, but simultaneously improving both the electrical performance and stretchability of CP ultrathin films by modulating the microstructure instead of varying the film thickness remains challenging. In this study, we prepared a dilute poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane-2,3-dicarboxylic acid disodium salt (HPN-68L) solution in a toluene:1,2-dichlorobenzene (Tol/ ODCB) solvent blend. The solution was ultrasonicated and then spin-coated to form P3HT ultrathin films through a simple one-step operation. Ultrasonication of the dilute polymer solution could make a localized region of the solution near an ultrasonication microbubble become highly concentrated. HPN-68L supplied a nucleation surface that accelerated P3HT nucleation and crystallization to form more tie chains. The Tol/ODCB solvent blend controlled the crystallinity and order of P3HT. By carefully choosing the ultrasonication time, nucleating agent content, and solvent blend ratio, P3HT ultrathin films with interpenetrating networks can be obtained, which have appropriate crystallinity/order and sufficient tie chains for high charge transport and high stretchability, successfully achieving simultaneous strong improvements in the electrical performance and stretchability. This method is verified to be suitable for producing P3HT ultrathin films with various thicknesses and improved performance by modulating the microstructures and enhancing the electrical property retention under the repeated strain of P3HT ultrathin films. We supply a simple one-step method to fabricate P3HT ultrathin films with controllable microstructures and good performance. These findings offer a direction for research on stretchable CP ultrathin films to facilitate future practical applications.

show abstract

Annealing effect of hybrid solar cells based on poly (3-hexylthiophene) and zinc-oxide nanostructures

Cited by 5 publications

References 42 publications

ZnO anchored graphene hydrophobic nanocomposite-based bulk heterojunction solar cells showing enhanced short-circuit current

ZnO anchored graphene hydrophobic nanocomposite-based bulk heterojunction solar cells showing enhanced short-circuit current

Effect of additional electron acceptor in hybrid P3HT:PCBM:ZnO spin‐coated films for photovoltaic application

A Simple Method to Tailor the Electrical and Tensile Properties of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Ultrathin Films

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About