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Updated: May 20, 2026
08:29
Morphology Control for Fully Printable Organic–Inorganic Bulk-heterojunction Solar Cells Based on a Ti-alkoxide and Semiconducting Polymer
Published on: January 10, 2017
Understanding polycarbazole-based polymer:CdSe hybrid solar cells.
Jun Yan Lek1, Yeng Ming Lam, Jacek Niziol
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798 Singapore.
Nanotechnology
|July 17, 2012
Summary
We fabricated novel organic-inorganic hybrid solar cells using PCDTBT and cadmium selenide nanorods, achieving 2% power conversion efficiency. These cells show higher open-circuit voltage than P3HT-based devices, indicating potential for high photovoltage applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Renewable Energy
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Organic-inorganic hybrid solar cells offer a promising route to efficient renewable energy.
- Poly[N-9″-hepta-decanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4',7'-di-2-thienyl-2',1',3'-benzothiadiazole)] (PCDTBT) is a donor polymer with a deep HOMO level.
- Cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanorods are utilized as electron acceptors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To fabricate and characterize organic-inorganic bulk heterojunction (BHJ) hybrid solar cells using PCDTBT and CdSe nanorods.
- To investigate the impact of CdSe loading and active layer thickness on device performance.
- To compare the performance of PCDTBT:CdSe solar cells with P3HT:CdSe devices.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of bulk heterojunction hybrid solar cells.
- Optimization of active layer film thickness and CdSe nanorod loading.
- Characterization of power conversion efficiency (PCE) and open-circuit voltage (V(OC)).
Main Results:
- Achieved power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) up to 2% for PCDTBT:CdSe hybrid solar cells.
- PCDTBT:CdSe devices exhibited a 35% higher open-circuit voltage (V(OC)) compared to P3HT:CdSe devices, attributed to PCDTBT's deeper HOMO level.
- Device performance was limited by morphology and a smaller LUMO energy offset compared to P3HT:CdSe.
Conclusions:
- PCDTBT is a viable alternative to P3HT as an electron donor in hybrid BHJ solar cells for high photovoltage applications.
- Further improvements in PCDTBT:CdSe solar cells are possible through morphology modification and interlayer integration for enhanced exciton dissociation.
- The study highlights the potential of PCDTBT for developing high-performance hybrid solar cells.
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