Core-shell nanocomposite of superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles with poly(m-aminobenzenesulfonic acid) for polymer solar cells

Abstract

Abstract Superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles play a significant role in enhancing the performance and efficiency of polymer-based solar cells using nanocomposites. For the first time in this study, a novel superparamagnetic core-shell nanocomposite of poly(m-aminobenzenesulfonic acid) (PABS) and Fe3O4 was synthesized by in-situ polymerization of m-ABS as a monomer in the presence of FeCl3·6H2O as oxidant under solid-state conditions. The poly(m-aminobenzenesulfonic acid) (PABS)-Fe3O4 nanocomposite (NCPABS-Fe3O4) was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) that revealed a core-shell morphology. Under simulated solar irradiation, the photovoltaic cell characteristics were measured. Based on our results, the polymer-hybrid solar cell was fabricated using FTO/TiO2/NCPABS-Fe3O4/Al and demonstrated a power conversion efficiency (PCE or η) 4.24% that was approximately 660% higher than those obtained from FTO/TiO2/(PABS)/Al. We have also proposed a new mechanism for the 660% enhanced efficiency. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest enhancement reported in the literature. Our results showed that the polymer-hybrid solar cell was completely efficient with a high η in comparison with similar ones reported in literature, and also had less fabrication costs using green synthesis conditions with a simple structure and displayed resistance to oxidation with high stability.