Abstract
The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effects of nanoparticles (NPs) are effective for enhancing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs). In this study, spiky durian-shaped Au@Ag core-shell NPs were synthesized and embedded in the hole transport layer (HTL) (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)) of PTB7:PC71BM bulk-heterojunction OSCs. Different volume ratios of PEDOT:PSS-to-Au@Ag NPs (8%, 10%, 12%, 14%, and 16%) were prepared to optimize synthesis conditions for increased efficiency. The size properties and surface morphology of the NPs and HTL were analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). UV–Vis spectroscopy and current density–voltage (J-V) analysis were used to investigate the electrical performance of the fabricated OSCs. From the results, we observed that the OSC with a volume ratio of 14% (PEDOT:PSS–to–Au@Ag NPs) performed better than others, where the PCE was improved from 2.50% to 4.15%, which is a 66% increase compared to the device without NPs.
Highlights
The quest for novel and eco-friendly energy solutions such as solar photovoltaics has increased rapidly as a viable alternative to fossil fuels, which have been contributing to abnormal climate conditions, principally the current global warming situation
The organic solar cells (OSCs) are constrained by low power conversion efficiency (PCE) and opencircuit voltage (Voc ) due to their inadequate light absorption, low charges diffusion length, and high recombination rate leading to exciton quenching in the active layer [1,2,3]
indium tin oxide (ITO)-glass substrate: and hydrochloric acid (HCl) were utilized to etch the ITO elecThe OSC device was fabricated as zinc metal (Zn) a configuration of ITO/PEDOT:PSS+Au@Ag trode from certain parts The of the glass slidedevices to electrically isolate the positive and negative respective were fabricated in compliance with the electrodes.procedures: The substrate subsequently washed detergent, ultrasonicated ac-ITO
Summary
The quest for novel and eco-friendly energy solutions such as solar photovoltaics has increased rapidly as a viable alternative to fossil fuels, which have been contributing to abnormal climate conditions, principally the current global warming situation. OSCs have been modified or functionalized to boost the capacity of the thin active layer to absorb light by means of periodic grating structures in electrodes, controlling the morphology of the layers, reconfiguring the optical device structure for light distribution, and incorporating nanoparticles (NPs) Among these strategies, NPs have gained more interest as an efficient approach for trapping light in the photoactive layer and improving the dissociation of excitons because of their near-field coupling effect [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. Core/shell structure of spiky durian-shaped Au@Ag NPs is embedded into PEDOT:PSS to achieve optimized cell performance through the appropriate concentration of Au@Ag NPs in PEDOT:PSS These OSCs are dependent on the active layer of PTB7:PC71 BM thin film that donates and accepts charged species, respectively. We obtained 66% enhancement of PCE and achieved 56% improvement in short-circuit photocurrent density (Jsc ) compared to the reference OSCs
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