Abstract
A quantitative method for the characterization of nanoscale 3D morphology is applied to the investigation of a hybrid solar cell based on a novel hierarchical nanostructured photoanode. A cross section of the solar cell device is prepared by focused ion beam milling in a micropillar geometry, which allows a detailed 3D reconstruction of the titania photoanode by electron tomography. It is found that the hierarchical titania nanostructure facilitates polymer infiltration, thus favoring intermixing of the two semiconducting phases, essential for charge separation. The 3D nanoparticle network is analyzed with tools from stochastic geometry to extract information related to the charge transport in the hierarchical solar cell. In particular, the experimental dataset allows direct visualization of the percolation pathways that contribute to the photocurrent.
Highlights
Polymer infiltration into the nanostructured inorganic component is generally difficult to achieve because of the smallHybrid solar cells, e.g., photovoltaic devices based on heterojunc- pore size and complex, random 3D nanostructure
Successful examples of the application of electron tomography[14,15] to the analysis of hybrid solar cells include the study of ZnO-polymer,[16,17] all-polymer[18,19] and CdSebased[20] devices, but these examples are limited to the analysis of Materials and Surfaces, Politecnico di Milano active layer thicknesses of about 200 nm, due to the requirement via Ponzio 34/3, I-20133, Milano, Italy for the specimen to be electron transparent at high tilt angles
We demonstrate a quantitative assessment of the polymer infiltration in the hierarchical TiO2 film, showing how electron tomography performed on a focused ion beam (FIB)-prepared micropillar specimen provides complete morphological information on a nanostructured composite device, with minimal user input
Summary
E.g., photovoltaic devices based on heterojunc- pore size and complex, random 3D nanostructure. A. Li Bassi Department of Energy and NEMAS – Center for NanoEngineered particles and interfaces can be distinguished and analyzed with statistical tools.[13] Successful examples of the application of electron tomography[14,15] to the analysis of hybrid solar cells include the study of ZnO-polymer,[16,17] all-polymer[18,19] and CdSebased[20] devices, but these examples are limited to the analysis of Materials and Surfaces, Politecnico di Milano active layer thicknesses of about 200 nm, due to the requirement via Ponzio 34/3, I-20133, Milano, Italy for the specimen to be electron transparent at high tilt angles. The results indicate that the tree-like structure of the photoanode is beneficial for electron transport
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