Review
Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes as interfacial
modification layers for organic-S i solar cells
Xiaoli Duan
a
, Jie Han
b
, Zhouhui Xia
a
, Tao Song
a
, Qingwen Li
b
, Hongbo Li
b
,
**
,
Baoquan Sun
a
,
*
a
Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Soochow University,
199 Ren'ai Road, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China
b
Division of Advanced Nanomaterials, Suzhou Institute of Nanotech and Nanobionics, Chinese Academy of Science, Suzhou 215123, China
article info
Article history:
Received 19 June 2015
Received in revised form
25 August 2015
Accepted 25 October 2015
Available online 11 November 2015
Keywords:
Single-walled carbon nanotubes
Hybrid solar cell
PEDOT:PSS
Interfacial modification
abstract
A semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) interlayer between poly(3,4-
ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and n-Si was used for high performance
organic-Si hybrid photovoltaic (PV) devices. The s-SWCNTs films with different thickness were utilized to
investigate the PV effect on PEDOT:PSS/Si device performance. The surface potential of Si substrate with
s-SWCNTs was dramatically reduced, which increased the compatibility between Si and PEDOT:PSS. In
addition, s-SWCNTs with good semiconducting properties, guaranteed the charge transfer between Si
and PEDOT:PSS. Therein, the electri cal contact was dramatically improved with addition of s-SWCNTs
interlayer, which led to increased fill factor. A power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 12.14% was achieved
with an optimized thickness of s-SWCNTs layer. The s-SWCNTs interface layer was fabricated by a simple
solution processed method, which was easily coupled with organic-Si solar cells to enhance the PCE.
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................ 205
2. Experimental methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................ 206
3. Results and discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................ 206
4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................ 208
Acknowledgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......................209
Supplementary data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................ 209
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......................209
1. Introduction
Photovoltaic (PV) industry has been grown rapidly due to the
expending demand for environmental friendly renewable energy
resources. Crystalline Si solar cells with the average power con-
version efficiency (PCE) of around 20% play a dominant role on the
commercial PV market [1]. However, high costs of Si wafers and
complicated manufacturing processes limit large scale application
of PV energy. In recent years, organic-Si hybrid solar cells have
been extensively studied via simple solution-processed
techniques to achieve low cost fabrication process [2]. Conjugated
polymers can be easily casted into large-area uniform films by
methods such as spin coating, inkjet printing, and spray coating.
Up to now, many organic materials have been used
to fabricate hybrid organic-Si solar cells. Among them, poly(3,4-
ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS)
attracted wide interests due to its high transparency and conduc-
tivity [3]. However, electrical coupling between Si and PEDOT:PSS
* Corresponding author.
** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: hbli2008@sinano.ac.cn (H. Li), bqsun@suda.edu.cn (B. Sun).
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Organic Electronics
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/orgel
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgel.2015.10.033
1566-1199/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Organic Electronics 28 (2016) 205e209