Diamond-based electrodes for organic photovoltaic devices

Abstract

The present paper demonstrates the possibility of replacing indium tin oxide (ITO) with heavily boron-doped diamond (BDD). Plasma Enhanced Chemically Vapor Deposited BDDs of various thicknesses were prepared containing various boron concentrations in a gas phase. The dependence of the above-mentioned parameters on the optical and electrical properties of each BDD was studied in order to achieve optimal conditions for the effective application of diamond electrodes in organic electronics as a replacement for ITO. Bulk-heterojunction polymer-fullerene organic solar cells were fabricated to test the potency of BDD application in photovoltaic devices. The obtained results demonstrated the possibility of the aforementioned application. Even though the efficiency of BDDbased devices is lower compared to those using regular ITO-based architecture, the relevant issues were explained.

Ultrathin Diamond Nanofilms—Development, Challenges, and Applications

“…Similarly, the transmittance in the visible range was lowered from ≈62% (integrated, dependent on wavelength) down to 30% upon the increase in boron/carbon ration, corresponding to the sp 3 /sp 2 ratio. The effect of boron doping on the transparency was corroborated by Kovalenko et al [34] Interestingly, diamond coatings f-h) AFM topography image (1 × 1 µm) of an UNCD sample scanned with an SiN x tip at RH of 15% after 1 scan (f) and 200 scans (g) in contact mode and the corresponding 2D tip profiles (h) from TEM micrographs after acquisition of 0-200 AFM images. a-h) Reproduced with permission.…”

“…[26] Along with their anti-biofouling, [7] anti-corrosion, [1] and mechanical robustness [27] ultrathin diamond films are attractive candidates for biosensors, [28] optical coatings, [29,30] etc. [31,32] Combined with conductivity, transparent ultra-thin diamond coatings are interesting for solar cells, [33,34] transparent electrodes, photochemical, and spectroelectrochemical applications. [31,35,36] Moreover, reduction of film thickness is of pivotal importance to endow diamond ultrathin films with a certain flexibility.…”

“…The improvement of diamond thin film synthesis offered the opportunity to reduce film thickness down to around 10 nm. [42] Still, conventional growth of diamond films require a film thickness of 100 nm to achieve a continuous diamond coating on a non-diamond substrate, [34,43,44] which is related to the poor nucleation (low nucleation density) of diamond on foreign substrates [45] and the fact that the initial growth of diamond films follows the Volmer-Weber model, that is, 3D growth of isolated diamond islands. [46] Therefore, the minimum film thickness for pinhole-free diamond films is highly dependent on the nucleation density and the size of the nuclei.…”

Plasma-Based Nanostructuring of Polymers: A Review

“…They both have similar mechanisms in converting the energy of light directly into electricity, which could be summarized in three steps: (1) the absorption of light, generating electron-hole pairs/excitons; (2) the separation of charged/excited carriers to positive/negative types; and (3) the separation of those charged carriers to an external circuit. Plasma treatment is used for increasing the effectiveness of all the components in each step, such as anti-reflective [ 112 ], electrode [ 113 ], and bandgap [ 114 ] for photovoltaics. Researches in solar cells are blooming with many records in efficiency.…”

Polymer‐coated Boron Doped Diamond Optically Transparent Electrodes for Spectroelectrochemical Sensors

“…BDDs good transparency in the UV-Vis and IR regions make it advantageous for spectroelectrochemistry in those spectral regions [12]. BDD electrodes also have the advantages of stability in harsh solution environments, a wide working potential window, and little background current [12,[20][21]. Both the electrochemical and optical properties of BDD remain stable after use in solvents and strongly acidic or basic solutions [12].…”