Semiconducting carbon nanotube aerogel bulk heterojunction solar cells

Using a novel two-step fabrication scheme, we create highly semiconducting-enriched single-walled carbon nanotube (sSWNT) bulk heterojunctions (BHJs) by first creating highly porous interconnected sSWNT aerogels (sSWNT-AEROs), followed by back-filling the pores with [6,6]-phenyl-C(71)-butyric acid methyl ester (PC(71)BM). We demonstrate sSWNT-AERO structures with density as low as 2.5 mg cm(-3), porosity as high as 99.8%, and diameter of sSWNT fibers ≤ 10 nm. Upon spin coating with PC(71)BM, the resulting sSWNT-AERO-PC(71)BM nanocomposites exhibit highly quenched sSWNT photoluminescence, which is attributed to the large interfacial area between the sSWNT and PC(71)BM phases, and an appropriate sSWNT fiber diameter that matches the inter-sSWNT exciton migration length. Employing the sSWNT-AERO-PC(71)BM BHJ structure, we report optimized solar cells with a power conversion efficiency of 1.7%, which is exceptional among polymer-like solar cells in which sSWNTs are designed to replace either the polymer or fullerene component. A fairly balanced photocurrent is achieved with 36% peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) in the visible and 19% peak EQE in the near-infrared where sSWNTs serve as electron donors and photoabsorbers. Our results prove the effectiveness of this new method in controlling the sSWNT morphology in BHJ structures, suggesting a promising route towards highly efficient sSWNT photoabsorbing solar cells.