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Efficiency Improvement in P3HT:CdSe Quantum Dots Hybrid Solar Cells by Utilizing Novel Processing of a Dual Ligand Exchangers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 June 2013

M. Alam Khan ,
U. Farva ,
Yongseok Jun  and
Omar Manasreh
M. Alam Khan
Affiliation:
Interdisciplinary School of Green Energy, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 100 Baniyeon-ri, Eonyang-eup, Ulju-gun, Ulsan, 689-798 Republic of Korea. Optoelectronic Laboratory, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville 72701, AR, United States
U. Farva
Affiliation:
Department of Material Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-744 Republic of Korea
Yongseok Jun
Affiliation:
Interdisciplinary School of Green Energy, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 100 Baniyeon-ri, Eonyang-eup, Ulju-gun, Ulsan, 689-798 Republic of Korea.
Omar Manasreh
Affiliation:
Optoelectronic Laboratory, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville 72701, AR, United States
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Abstract

CdSe quantum dots of hexagonal Wurtzite crystal structure with an average diameter of ∼7 nm were synthesized and processed for bulk heterojunction solar cell applications. The UV-Vis absorption spectrum shows an excitonic peak at 625 nm and at 635 nm in synthesized and dual ligand exchanged samples, respectively. The synthesized quantum dots were successively ligand exchanged by pyridine and 2-propanethiol to remove the TOPO ligands on quantum dot surface and then hybrid solar cell devices were fabricated. Initially the weight ratio was optimized by using pyridine capped CdSe blend with P3HT polymer as an active layer in chloroform as a solvent on the patterned ITO glass. Then dual ligand exchanged CdSe was compared with pyridine optimized samples. The maximum solar cell conversion efficiency of 1.21% was achieved with Jsc of 4.1 mA/cm-2, VOC of 0.51 and FF of 44 compared to the optimized pyridine capped CdSe quantum dots where efficiency of 0.74% with Jsc of 2.15 mA/cm-2, VOC of 0.53 was observed. The increase in solar cell efficiency was attributed to the better ligand exchanged and additional treatment with 2-propanethiol at ambient temperature. Such an exchange of organic ligands by successive ligand exchanger will open new domain for hybrid solar cell research. The morphology of QDs and microstructures of the heterojunction active layer (P3HT:CdSe) were examined by using TEM, XRD, UV-Vis spectra, and IV curve techniques.

Keywords

nanostructureoptoelectronicphotovoltaic
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1537: Symposium B – Organic and Hybrid Photovoltaic Materials and Devices , 2013 , mrss13-1537-b06-43
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2013 

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