Investigation of the localized surface plasmon effect from Au nanoparticles in ZnO nanorods for enhancing the performance of polymer solar cells

Abstract

The organic polymer solar cell is recognized as one of the most competitive technologies of the next generation. Au nanoparticles and ZnO nanorods were combined to improve the inverted-structure low-bandgap polymer solar cells and enhance the absorption and efficiency of the devices. However, the Au nanoparticles tend to aggregate in solution, thus reducing the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect. The cluster effect on the spectral range of enhancement in the absorption is investigated and the absorption characteristics of the LSPR receive proper modification through our experiment. After reducing the number of Au nanoparticle clusters, the LSPR effect in the devices was clearly verified. The proper combination of the Au nanoparticles and ZnO nanorods leads to the power conversion efficiency of the PTB7 : PC71BM inverted organic solar cell reaching 8.04% after optimizing the process conditions.

Amphiphilic fullerene derivative as effective interfacial layer for inverted polymer solar cells

“…Meanwhile, interface engineering is crucially important in improving the performance of PSCs. Interfacial layers possess multiple functions, for example, tuning the energy level alignment [13,14], adjusting the light absorbing [15,16] and improving the interfacial stability [17]. Generally, interfacial materials contain conducting polymer [4,18], metal oxides [19e21], conjugated polymer electrolytes [12,22], carbon nanomaterials…”

Enhancement of the power conversion efficiency due to the plasmonic resonant effect of Au nanoparticles in ZnO nanoripples

“…The absorption intensity of the P3HT/Au-ZnO NR structure might be broadly increased from 500 to 600 nm in comparison with that of the P3HT/ZnO NR structure. The broad absorption region of the P3HT/Au-ZnO NR indicates that the plasmon absorption region is changed by the Au NPs aggregation [45,48]. The increased photon absorption in the P3HT layer enhances the short-circuit current density (Jsc) of the device with a Au-ZnO NR ETL [6].…”

Controlled Morphology of ZnO Nanorods for Electron Transport in Squaraine Bulk‐Hetero Junction Solar Cells With Thick Active Layers

“…ZnO is a wide band gap semiconductor with a high electron mobility which can be processed from solution to form a rich family of nanostructures, such as nanorods . In recent years, ZnO nanorods have been incorporated into the design of photovoltaic device architectures to form an ordered, interpenetrating network with the solar cell absorber, thereby reducing electrical losses and increasing the effective active area of the solar cell. The optimization of nanorod morphology, in particular the vertical alignment, aspect ratio, density, and spatial arrangement, has been previously reported …”