Investigation of Photoelectron Properties of Polymer Films with Silicon Nanoparticles

Elizaveta A Konstantinova,Alexander S Vorontsov,Pavel A Forsh

doi:10.3390/surfaces2020028

Abstract

Hybrid samples consisting of polymer poly-3(hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and silicon nanoparticles were prepared. It was found that the obtained samples were polymer matrixes with conglomerates of silicon nanoparticles of different sizes (10–104 nm). It was found that, under illumination, the process of nonequilibrium charge carrier separation between the silicon nanoparticles and P3HT with subsequent localization of the hole in the polymer can be successfully detected using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. It was established that the main type of paramagnetic centers in P3HT/silicon nanoparticles are positive polarons in P3HT. For comparison, samples consisting only of polymer and silicon nanoparticles were also investigated by the EPR technique. The polarons in the P3HT and Pb centers in the silicon nanoparticles were observed. The possibility of the conversion of solar energy into electric energy is shown using structures consisting of P3HT polymer and silicon nanoparticles prepared by different methods, including the electrochemical etching of a silicon single crystal in hydrofluoric acid solution and the laser ablation of single-crystal silicon in organic solvents. The results can be useful for solar cell development.

Highlights

Solar cells based on crystalline or polycrystalline silicon are the dominant technology globally [1,2,3]
The possibility of the conversion of solar energy into electric energy is shown using structures consisting of P3HT polymer and silicon nanoparticles prepared by different methods, including the electrochemical etching of a silicon single crystal in hydrofluoric acid solution and the laser ablation of single-crystal silicon in organic solvents
Thethe efficiency of the solar energy conversion of the samples in our study was lowlow, we have demonstrated that electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy is an effective tool for the detection of exceeding

Summary

Introduction

Solar cells based on crystalline or polycrystalline silicon are the dominant technology globally [1,2,3]. Increasing the efficiency of amorphous silicon-based solar cells is potentially possible using semiconductor nanocrystals. This is a very complex problem because it requires the development of methods for improving the injection and transport of charge carriers in such structures. The available literary data [7,9] demonstrate the prospects of use of hybrid structures on the basis of silicon nanoparticles (nc-Si) and organic compounds for transformation of solar energy. Such devices have the advantage of solution preparation but at the same time are characterized by Surfaces 2019, 2, 0; doi:10.3390/surfaces2020000 www.mdpi.com/journal/surfaces. We measured the current–voltage characteristics of structures containing silicon nanocrystals in a polymeric matrix

Experimental

Results and Discussions

Conclusions