Formulation of conductive nanocomposites by incorporating silver‐doped carbon quantum dots for efficient charge extraction

Abstract

Summary Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxy thiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) has been investigated as a hole transport material in organic‐inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with a p‐i‐n architecture. However, the intrinsic acidic nature of PEDOT:PSS induces interfacial protonation and degrades the quality of the thin film, resulting in low charge conductivity, low perovskite crystallinity, and poor device stability. In this work, we demonstrate the effect of adding carbon quantum dots doped with silver (Ag‐CQDs) to the PEDOT:PSS hole transport layer (HTL) to improve charge extraction, increase electrical conductivity, and hence, enhance the performance of hybrid PSCs. The proposed method enables facile one‐step hydrothermal synthesis of the Ag‐CQDs in the presence of a nitrogen‐containing carbon precursor. The incorporation of PEDOT:PSS containing Ag‐CQDs in PSCs noticeably increased the short circuit current density (Jsc) in the optimised devices, enhancing the device performance and ensuring long‐term durability of PSCs, compared with the pristine. The performance improvement is the result of highly efficient hole extraction because of the enhancement of electrical properties of PEDOT:PSS by Ag‐CQD. It is also attributed to the improved perovskite crystallinity, which depends on the increased surface energy of HTL. This work provides an efficient route to realise more stable PSCs capable of delivering outstanding charge dynamics.

Carbon dot/inorganic nanomaterial composites

“…Therefore, they can be applied to photo-energy conversion devices like solar cells. [145][146][147] Hui et al 148 doped red carbon dots in SnO 2 in the highefficiency electron transport layer and applied it to perovskite solar cells (Fig. 14a).…”

pH-Sensitive Silver-Containing Carbon Dots Based on Folic Acid

“…Among the metal elements studied, Ag + was found to significantly enhance the fluorescence of CDs by chelating Ag + with surface functional groups [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]. Therefore, directly doping Ag + into CDs during preparation is a promising way to develop Ag-containing CDs (Ag-CDs) [ 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”