Abstract
The search for novel solar cell designs as an alternative to standard silicon solar cells is important for the future of renewable energy production. One such alternative design is the carbon nanotube/silicon (CNT/Si) heterojunction solar device. In order to improve the performance of large area CNT/Si heterojunction solar cells, a novel organic material, 4,10-bis(bis(4-methoxyphenyl)amino)naptho[7,8,1,2,3-nopqr]tetraphene-6,12-dione (DPA-ANT-DPA (shortened to DAD)), was added as an interlayer between the CNT film and the silicon surface. The interlayer was examined with SEM and AFM imaging to determine an optimal thickness for solar cell performance. The DAD was shown to improve the device performance with the efficiency of large area devices improving from 2.89% ± 0.40% to 3.34% ± 0.10%.
Highlights
As the issues with fossil fuel-based methods of energy production become more and more obvious and pronounced, the push to improve environmentally friendly methods of energy generation becomes critically important
With a percent current efficiency (PCE) of 1.3% and this has been improved considerably from there with PCEs as high as 17% [2] reported by Wang et al in 2015
Layers derived from other solar cell architectures have been employed such as the solid-state hole transporting material
Summary
As the issues with fossil fuel-based methods of energy production become more and more obvious and pronounced, the push to improve environmentally friendly methods of energy generation becomes critically important. In the world of solar energy, one emerging design is the carbon nanotube/silicon (CNT/Si) heterojunction solar cell. This architecture was first studied in 2006 [1]. Many different methods have been employed to improve this cell design, with different surface architectures, and different nanotube types (SWCNTs, DWCNTs and MWCNTs as well as different SWCNTs chiralities). Of particular interest is the flourishing field of adding a thin interlayer between the silicon substrate and the CNTs in order to improve conductivity [3], act as an electron blocker [4], act as a hole transporter [4], and improve cell stability, or a combination of these effects. Layers derived from other solar cell architectures have been employed such as the solid-state hole transporting material
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