No abstract

High-performance graphene/silicon (Gr/Si) solar cells are reported with four-month-stable efficiency over 11%.

Graphene/silicon (Gr/Si) solar cells have triggered considerable interest for their potential in low‐cost and high‐efficiency photovoltaic applications. However, the performance of Gr/Si solar cells is still limited by poor Gr conductivity and carrier recombination at the interface. In this study, a solution‐processable poly(3‐hexylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl) (P3HT) thin film is employed as a carrier selective interlayer in the graphene and n‐type Si solar cells, which can increase the work function and conductivity of the Gr due to photoinduced p‐type doping under light illumination. Consequently, the Schottky barrier height of the solar cells is enhanced, whereas the carrier recombination at the interface is suppressed. The utilization of antireflection and additional chemical doping at the other side of the Gr layer further improves the performance of the solar cells, which shows a power conversion efficiency of 12.95% with high stability. This study paves a new venue for the development of Gr/Si solar cells toward real applications.

High performance chemical-doping-free graphene/silicon solar cells with a self-generated quasi p–n junction are reported.