Performance enhancement of CdSe nanorod-polymer based hybrid solar cells utilizing a novel combination of post-synthetic nanoparticle surface treatments

Celik, Dilek; Krueger, Michael; Veit, Clemens; Schleiermacher, Hans F.; Zimmermann, Birger; Allard, Sybille; Dumsch, Ines; Scherf, Ullrich; Rauscher, Frank; Niyamakom, Phenwisa

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2011.11.049

Cited by 85 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] A confi guration of particular promise is the hybrid inorganic nanocrystalpoly mer bulk heterojunction solar cell. A typical device consists of a photoactive layer composed of a blend of inorganic nanoparticles and a semiconducting polymer, which is sandwiched between two charge-collecting electrodes.…”

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confidence: 99%

Solution Processed Polymer–Inorganic Semiconductor Solar Cells Employing Sb₂S₃ as a Light Harvesting and Electron Transporting Material

Bansal

O'Mahony

Lutz

et al. 2013

Advanced Energy Materials

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Hybrid solar cells based upon organic-inorganic semiconductor heterojunctions are currently the subject of signifi cant interest as they incorporate the attractive properties of both organic and inorganic materials, including the ability to tune both the electronic and structural properties over a wide range using solution-based fabrication methods. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] A confi guration of particular promise is the hybrid inorganic nanocrystalpoly mer bulk heterojunction solar cell. A typical device consists of a photoactive layer composed of a blend of inorganic nanoparticles and a semiconducting polymer, which is sandwiched between two charge-collecting electrodes. The operation of such a system is based upon a photoinduced charge separation reaction at the inorganic-organic semiconductor heterojunction, followed by charge carrier transport and collection at the device electrodes. To date, a variety of inorganic semiconductors have been used in solution processed polymer solar cells including metal oxides, sulfi des and selenides. Metal chalcogenide nanocrystals are especially attractive for use in photovoltaic device applications as they offer the potential to extend the light harvesting capability of the device into the near infrared region of the solar spectrum. For example, impressive solar-light to electrical power conversion effi ciencies have been recently reported for photovoltaic devices based upon CdSe:PCPDTBT ( > 3%) [ 5 , 8 ] and CdS:P3HT nanocomposite fi lms (4.1%). [ 6 ] Key challenges to the design of high-performance hybrid solar cells are (i) the development of new fabrication routes for hybrid thin fi lms that enable the achievement of high yields of charge separation whilst maintaining good electrical connectivity between the inorganic nanocrystals in the photoactive layer and (ii) the development of alternative inorganic electron acceptors that exhibit light harvesting properties superior to the typically used cadmium-based materials. To address challenge (i), we have recently reported a new approach to the fabrication of hybrid metal sulfi de-polymer solar cell photoactive layers, which is based upon the in-situ thermal decomposition of a single source metal xanthate precursor in a polymer fi lm. [ 9 ] The use of metal xanthate (or metal o-alkyl dithiocarbonate) precursors for the in-situ growth of metal sulfi de nanocrystals in polymer fi lms is of particular interest due to their high solubility, low decomposition temperature and the volatility of the side products generated upon thermal decomposition. As such, we have implemented this design strategy in the fabrication of CdS:P3HT and CuInS 2 :polymer nanocomposite fi lms and demonstrated effi cient charge photogeneration at the donor-acceptor heterojunction. [9][10][11] Furthermore, the integration of such photoactive layers into solar cell architectures yielded impressive power conversion effi ciencies approaching 3% under AM1.5 simulated solar illumination. [ 11 ] In this paper, we extend our previous work and report on a bulk hete...

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confidence: 99%

Solution Processed Polymer–Inorganic Semiconductor Solar Cells Employing Sb₂S₃ as a Light Harvesting and Electron Transporting Material

Bansal

O'Mahony

Lutz

et al. 2013

Advanced Energy Materials

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“…see recent reviews, [ 11,12 ] mainly based on Cd chalcogenide quantum dots and phenylenevinylene (PPV) and polythiophene (P3HT) conjugated polymers. Control over blend nanomorphology [11][12][13][14][15] and the shape and aspect ratio of the NCs [ 11-13 , 16 ] has proven to be critical in improving performance. A further increase in effi ciency was enabled by two important developments: i) the use of mild postfabrication chemical treatments to replace bulky insulating QD ligands with shorter capping molecules to allow better charge extraction [15][16][17][18][19][20] and ii) the employment of new low-bandgap copolymers.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Control over blend nanomorphology [11][12][13][14][15] and the shape and aspect ratio of the NCs [ 11-13 , 16 ] has proven to be critical in improving performance. A further increase in effi ciency was enabled by two important developments: i) the use of mild postfabrication chemical treatments to replace bulky insulating QD ligands with shorter capping molecules to allow better charge extraction [15][16][17][18][19][20] and ii) the employment of new low-bandgap copolymers. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] The photophysics of bulk heterojunctions of a high-performance, low-gap silicon-bridged dithiophene polymer with oleic acid capped PbS quantum dots (QDs) are studied to assess the material potential for light harvesting in the visible-and IR-light ranges.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Size‐Dependent Charge Transfer in Blends of PbS Quantum Dots with a Low‐Gap Silicon‐Bridged Copolymer

Itskos

Papagiorgis

Τσόκκου

et al. 2013

Advanced Energy Materials

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overcoming several key obstacles, and achieving more than two orders of magnitude effi ciency increase towards the anticipated milestone solar cell effi ciency of 10%. [ 1,2 ] Equally impressive has been the progress in light harvesting based on colloidal quantum dots (QDs) with successful demonstrations based on all-QD active regions of Schottky [ 3,4 ] solar cells and recently of depleted heterojunction [ 5 ] and p-n junction [ 6 ] types of devices. While high-performance light sensors can be produced based on fully organic or fully nanocrystal active regions, composites of the two systems exhibit important advantages. Organic devices can benefi t from the higher absorption of nanocrystals (NCs) compared to the fullerene acceptors, size-tunable levels to tailor band-offsets, control over NC shape to optimize composite morphologies, and the possibility of higher stability arising from the incorporation of a less-volatile inorganic moiety. For QD devices an extended network of highly absorbing conducting organic components can signifi cantly enhance light harvesting and can provide pathways for effi cient charge, energy, and even multiexciton extraction. [ 7,8 ] The seminal proposal by Alivisatos and co-workers [ 9 ] to replace fullerenes with colloidal quantum dots (QDs) as the acceptor material in organic bulk heterojunctions (BHJs) paved the way for hybrid polymer-nanocrystal structures. Research on hybrid PVs intensifi ed with the publication of another article by the same group demonstrating a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of over 2% by using a mixture of CdSe NCs and P3HT as the active layer in a BHJ architecture. [ 10 ] Numerous reports followed, i.e. see recent reviews, [ 11,12 ] mainly based on Cd chalcogenide quantum dots and phenylenevinylene (PPV) and polythiophene (P3HT) conjugated polymers. Control over blend nanomorphology [11][12][13][14][15] and the shape and aspect ratio of the NCs [ 11-13 , 16 ] has proven to be critical in improving performance. A further increase in effi ciency was enabled by two important developments: i) the use of mild postfabrication chemical treatments to replace bulky insulating QD ligands with shorter capping molecules to allow better charge extraction [15][16][17][18][19][20] and ii) the employment of new low-bandgap copolymers. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] The photophysics of bulk heterojunctions of a high-performance, low-gap silicon-bridged dithiophene polymer with oleic acid capped PbS quantum dots (QDs) are studied to assess the material potential for light harvesting in the visible-and IR-light ranges. By employing a wide range of nanocrystal sizes, systematic dependences of electron and hole transfer on quantum-dot size are established for the fi rst time on a low-gap polymer-dot system. The studied system exhibits type II band offsets for dot sizes up to ca. 4 nm, whch allow fast hole transfer from the quantum dots to the polymer that competes favorably with the intrinsic QD recombination. Electron transfer from the polymer is also observed although i...

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“…88 A similar approach has been also pursued by using the nanorods and the nanowires of CdSe and CdS NCs. 89 The underpinning goal in In contrast to the excitonically driven hybrid LEDs, where phase segregation was shown to be highly detrimental for the color purity of the electroluminescence, 40 the hybrids of PbSeS QDs−PDTPBT CPs can simultaneously combine the ultrafast charge separation and efficient charge transport through vertical phase segregation. 90 The device architecture together with the proposed vertical-phase-separated morphology is shown in Figure 7.…”

Section: The Journal Of Physical Chemistry Lettersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic–Inorganic Composites of Semiconductor Nanocrystals for Efficient Excitonics

Güzeltürk

Demir

2015

J. Phys. Chem. Lett.

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Nanocomposites of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals integrated into conjugated polymers are the key to soft-material hybrid optoelectronics, combining advantages of both plastics and particles. Synergic combination of the favorable properties in the hybrids of colloidal nanocrystals and conjugated polymers offers enhanced performance and new functionalities in light-generation and light-harvesting applications, where controlling and mastering the excitonic interactions at the nanoscale are essential. In this Perspective, we highlight and critically consider the excitonic interactions in the organic−inorganic nanocomposites to achieve highly efficient exciton transfer through rational design of the nanocomposites. The use of strong excitonic interactions in optoelectronic devices can trigger efficiency breakthroughs in hybrid optoelectronics. B oth colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) and π-conjugated semiconductor polymers (CPs) are attractive materials for a broad range of applications including bioimaging, 1,2 sensing, 3,4 electronics, 5,6 and photonics. 7,8 Using these emerging materials for energy-efficient lighting, display and photovoltaic technologies have gained escalating interest in the past 2 decades. 9−12 To this end, combining favorable optical properties of the colloidal semiconductor NCs and versatile physical properties of the conjugated polymers in hybrid platforms offers enabling opportunities for highperformance devices along with new functionalities. For this purpose, in the organic−inorganic composite systems, controlling the photophysical properties becomes crucial. These properties principally comprise excitons and excitonic processes, which include exciton formation, diffusion, transfer, and dissociation as well as radiative and nonradiative recombination of the excitons. These excitonic processes are schematically depicted in Figure 1.An exciton, which is a Coulombically bound electron−hole pair, is the primary form of the excited-state energy in the CPs and the NCs. An exciton can be created via either optical or electrical excitation (Figure 1a). Optical excitation occurs through absorption of a photon, while electrical excitation requires simultaneous injection of an electron and a hole. Within the lifetime of an exciton, it may radiatively or nonradiatively recombine (Figure 1b). Radiative recombination results in emission of a photon, whereas nonradiative recombination does not produce light but heat. Exciton diffusion (Figure 1c) is another process that is widely observed in the close-packed solid films of the CPs and the colloidal NCs. In the case of CPs, exciton diffusion/migration can happen either via exciton hopping within the delocalized excited-state landscape of CP 13 or via Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between different chromophoric units of the CP.14,15 In the colloidal NCs, exciton diffusion dominantly takes place through long-range nonradiative energy transfer because excitons are confined to the NCs. 16,17 The exciton diffusion length in ...

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Performance enhancement of CdSe nanorod-polymer based hybrid solar cells utilizing a novel combination of post-synthetic nanoparticle surface treatments

Cited by 85 publications

References 44 publications

Solution Processed Polymer–Inorganic Semiconductor Solar Cells Employing Sb₂S₃ as a Light Harvesting and Electron Transporting Material

Solution Processed Polymer–Inorganic Semiconductor Solar Cells Employing Sb₂S₃ as a Light Harvesting and Electron Transporting Material

Size‐Dependent Charge Transfer in Blends of PbS Quantum Dots with a Low‐Gap Silicon‐Bridged Copolymer

Organic–Inorganic Composites of Semiconductor Nanocrystals for Efficient Excitonics

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Performance enhancement of CdSe nanorod-polymer based hybrid solar cells utilizing a novel combination of post-synthetic nanoparticle surface treatments

Cited by 85 publications

References 44 publications

Solution Processed Polymer–Inorganic Semiconductor Solar Cells Employing Sb2S3 as a Light Harvesting and Electron Transporting Material

Solution Processed Polymer–Inorganic Semiconductor Solar Cells Employing Sb2S3 as a Light Harvesting and Electron Transporting Material

Size‐Dependent Charge Transfer in Blends of PbS Quantum Dots with a Low‐Gap Silicon‐Bridged Copolymer

Organic–Inorganic Composites of Semiconductor Nanocrystals for Efficient Excitonics

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Solution Processed Polymer–Inorganic Semiconductor Solar Cells Employing Sb₂S₃ as a Light Harvesting and Electron Transporting Material

Solution Processed Polymer–Inorganic Semiconductor Solar Cells Employing Sb₂S₃ as a Light Harvesting and Electron Transporting Material