Effect of C60 on methyl red and crystal violet dye-doped photovoltaic device

Abstract

The potential of dye sensitization of organic photovoltaic devices has been investigated. The photoelectrical properties of such devices have been studied. With the help of spin-coating method, single layer and double layer structures are prepared with the help of both methyl red and crystal violet dye at a time. Methyl red and crystal violet dye are dispersed in polyvinyl alcohol used as an inert polymer binder and polyethylene oxide complexed with LiClO4 ion salt as a solid electrolyte. Ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate are used as plasticizers. A layer of this blend is sandwitched between two electrodes, one of which is indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass plate and another is Al electrodes. In this study, the use of a C60 layer over the previously prepared blend is done. ITO-coated glass plate and Al electrodes are taken as counter electrodes. Use of C60 molecule over the polymer blend in a heterojunction increased the efficiency of photovoltaic devices. In this type of device, the polymer blend acts as an electron donor to the second layers, whereas C60 plays the role of an electron acceptor.