Enhanced efficiency in hollow core electrospun nanofiber-based organic solar cells

Mohammad Ali Haghighat Bayan,Massimiliano Lanzi,Faramarz Afshar Taromi,Filippo Pierini

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-00580-4

Abstract

Over the last decade, nanotechnology and nanomaterials have attracted enormous interest due to the rising number of their applications in solar cells. A fascinating strategy to increase the efficiency of organic solar cells is the use of tailor-designed buffer layers to improve the charge transport process. High-efficiency bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells have been obtained by introducing hollow core polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers as a buffer layer. An improved power conversion efficiency in polymer solar cells (PSCs) was demonstrated through the incorporation of electrospun hollow core PANI nanofibers positioned between the active layer and the electrode. PANI hollow nanofibers improved buffer layer structural properties, enhanced optical absorption, and induced a more balanced charge transfer process. Solar cell photovoltaic parameters also showed higher open-circuit voltage (+ 40.3%) and higher power conversion efficiency (+ 48.5%) than conventional architecture BHJ solar cells. Furthermore, the photovoltaic cell developed achieved the highest reported efficiency value ever reached for an electrospun fiber-based solar cell (PCE = 6.85%). Our results indicated that PANI hollow core nanostructures may be considered an effective material for high-performance PSCs and potentially applicable to other fields, such as fuel cells and sensors.

Highlights

Over the last decade, nanotechnology and nanomaterials have attracted enormous interest due to the rising number of their applications in solar cells
The morphology of the prepared buffer layers for organic solar cells (OSCs) was examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the final device photovoltaic tests showed that hollow PANI decreases the hole extraction route and improves hole-collection efficiency. These findings proved that the new hole transport layers (HTLs) based on hollow core PANI nanofibers is a promising material for charge transport layers in optoelectronic devices, since the open-circuit voltage (Voc) increased by 40%, while its efficiency rose up to 6.85%, which is—to the best of our knowledge—the highest obtained value for an electrospun nanofiber-based organic solar cell
We used the above-mentioned steps to polymerize emeraldine PANI, which was used as a buffer layer for the organic solar cell

Summary

Introduction

Nanotechnology and nanomaterials have attracted enormous interest due to the rising number of their applications in solar cells. An improved power conversion efficiency in polymer solar cells (PSCs) was demonstrated through the incorporation of electrospun hollow core PANI nanofibers positioned between the active layer and the electrode. Due to rising energy consumption and limited fossil fuels, the need and desire for cost-effective renewable energy has created much interest in the development of new clean energy sources Renewable energies such as wind turbines, tidal energy, and solar cells are unlimited s ources[1]. A representative example is the deployment of new organic molecules with an enhanced band gap in their active layer Other methods, such as post-treatment doping, incorporation of ultrathin semiconductors, and fabrication of tandem solar cells with efficient interlayers, have been developed[5]. There is a strong coulombic attraction between the two ionomers that causes the mixture to entangle in a coiled state, surrounded by conductive PEDOT oligomers covered by Scientific Reports | (2021) 11:21144

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Results

Conclusion