Inverted organic solar cells with solvothermal synthesized vanadium-doped TiO ₂ thin films as efficient electron transport layer

Abstract

We investigated the effects of using different thicknesses of pure and vanadium-doped thin films of TiO 2 as the electron transport layer in the inverted configuration of organic photovoltaic cells based on poly (3-hexylthiophene) P3HT: [6-6] phenyl-(6) butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). 1% vanadium-doped TiO 2 nanoparticles were synthesized via the solvothermal method. Crystalline structure, morphology, and optical properties of pure and vanadium-doped TiO 2 thin films were studied by different techniques such as x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmittance electron microscopy, and UV-visible transmission spectrum. The doctor blade method which is compatible with roll-2-roll printing was used for deposition of pure and vanadium-doped TiO 2 thin films with thicknesses of 30 nm and 60 nm. The final results revealed that the best thickness of TiO 2 thin films for our fabricated cells was 30 nm. The cell with vanadium-doped TiO 2 thin film showed slightly higher power conversion efficiency and great J sc of 10.7 mA/cm 2 compared with its pure counterpart. In the cells using 60 nm pure and vanadium-doped TiO 2 layers, the cell using the doped layer showed much higher efficiency. It is remarkable that the external quantum efficiency of vanadium-doped TiO 2 thin film was better in all wavelengths.

Synthesis and Characterization of Various Doped TiO2 Nanocrystals for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

“…This enhanced performance can be attributed to the increased light absorption with the rise in external quantum efficiency in the longer wavelength region. 12 Zinc-doped TiO 2 (Zn-TiO 2 ) nanoparticles are known to be a promising photocatalytic material and possess high electron mobility. Nguyen et al studied the Zn-TiO 2 nanoparticles by the sol−gel and ammonia evaporation processes and reported the noticeable photodegradation of methylene blue dye.…”

“…The solar cell based on the photoanode film having a thickness of 30 nm endorsed the enhanced conversion efficiency. This enhanced performance can be attributed to the increased light absorption with the rise in external quantum efficiency in the longer wavelength region . Zinc-doped TiO 2 (Zn-TiO 2 ) nanoparticles are known to be a promising photocatalytic material and possess high electron mobility.…”

Self-assembled monolayer modified copper(I) iodide hole transport layer for efficient polymer solar cells

“…[1][2][3][4][5] In recent years, numerous strategies have been utilized to enhance the performance of PSCs, including the synthesis of efficient photoactive materials, [6,7] the modification of film morphology, [8,9] and the reasonable selection of transport layers. [10][11][12][13] Consequently, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PSCs has been significantly improved, and it is worth noting that the values were up to over 12% for nonfullerene polymer solar cells that fabricated by ternary bulk-heterojunction [14] or the molecular regulation of acceptors, [15,16] which will further accelerate the commercial application of PSCs. The widely used structure of PSCs is a sandwich structure of a hole transport layer (HTL), photoactive layer, and electron transfer layer (ETL).…”