Annealing Effect on Photovoltaic Performance of Hybrid P3HT/In-Situ Grown CdS Nanocrystal Solar Cells

Abstract

The CdS nanocrystals with different aspect ratios (ARs) can be synthesized directly in the presence of conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT). The UV-vis spectra of the composite films show a blue shift of the p-p * transition band with an increasing aspect ratio (AR) of the CdS nanocrystals, which was attributed to the destruction of the ordered structure of polymer chains as supported by PL measurements. Atomic force microscope measurements on P3HT/CdS film also demonstrate the aggre-gation of CdS nanocrystal in the P3HT matrix is more apparent for the CdS nanocrystals of AR 4 than that of AR 16, indicat-ing a stronger interaction between P3HT and CdS for a larger AR (16), which is favorable for the network structure and formation of percolation paths to increase the transport properties of the P3HT/CdS solar cells. Therefore, a higher power conversion effi-ciencies (PCE) up to 2.95 % can be obtained for the in-situ-grown P3HT/CdS with AR 16 upon annealing treatment at 160C for 60 min. VC 2011 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/1.3585668] All rights reserved

Johnson Noise and Optical Characteristics of Polymer Nanocomposites based on Colloidal Quantum Dots and in-situ Nanoparticles Formation

“…Conjugation system in P3HT causes two peaks at 522 and 556 nm and a shoulder at 605 nm to appear in the UV-Vis graph. A similar result has been obtained by the Liao research group [31]. The peaks attribute to π-π* transition or the order of intermolecular chains of the polymer, while the shoulder is due to crystallization of polymer [32,33].…”

In situ syntheses of semiconducting nanoparticles in conjugated polymer matrices and their application in photovoltaics.

“…Hybrid P3HT/CdS layers containing nanorods with higher aspect ratio exhibit more efficient photoluminescence quenching as well as higher solar cell efficiencies compared to devices using spherical nanoparticles [95]. This can be attributed to an increased interaction strength of the nanostructures to the sulfur atoms in P3HT with increasing aspect ratio, as analysed by 1 H-NMR spectroscopy [96]. Solar cells prepared with nanorods having an aspect ratio of 16 showed the best PCEs exhibiting values up to 2.95%, which are currently the highest reported values for hybrid solar cells prepared via in situ routes [96].…”

“…The positive effect of the in situ prepared nanorods concerning photovoltaic applications was elaborated in detail by Liao et al [95,96]. Hybrid P3HT/CdS layers containing nanorods with higher aspect ratio exhibit more efficient photoluminescence quenching as well as higher solar cell efficiencies compared to devices using spherical nanoparticles [95].…”

“…This can be attributed to an increased interaction strength of the nanostructures to the sulfur atoms in P3HT with increasing aspect ratio, as analysed by 1 H-NMR spectroscopy [96]. Solar cells prepared with nanorods having an aspect ratio of 16 showed the best PCEs exhibiting values up to 2.95%, which are currently the highest reported values for hybrid solar cells prepared via in situ routes [96].…”

Synthesis of hyperbranched polythiophenes containing tetrachloroperylene bisimide as bridging moiety for polymer solar cells

“…The T g of P3HT has been reported to be -14, 12, and 110 o C by different research groups [19][20][21][22], and T m of P3HT was observed around 200-230 o C [22,23]. Since T g is affected by molecular weights and structural regioregularity of polymers, the measurement of T g of a certain P3HT can be varied with different material sources and characterization techniques.…”