RETRACTED: Polymeric Solar Cell with 19.69% Efficiency Based on Poly(o-phenylene diamine)/TiO2 Composites
M Sh Zoromba1, M H Abdel-Aziz1,2, A R Ghazy3
1Chemical and Materials Engineering Department, King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh 21911, Saudi Arabia.
Polymers
|March 11, 2023
Summary
Researchers developed a novel poly(o-phenylene diamine)/titanium dioxide nanoparticle nanocomposite thin film. This material shows promise for efficient solar cells and optoelectronic devices, achieving up to 19.69% efficiency.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Polymer Chemistry
Background:
- Conducting polymers offer unique electronic properties.
- Titanium dioxide nanoparticles are widely used in optoelectronics.
- Developing novel nanocomposites is crucial for advanced device performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize a novel poly(o-phenylene diamine)/titanium dioxide nanoparticle mono nanocomposite ([PoPDA/TiO2]MNC).
- To investigate the structural, morphological, and optical properties of the [PoPDA/TiO2]MNC thin films.
- To evaluate the potential of [PoPDA/TiO2]MNC thin films for solar cell and optoelectronic applications.
Main Methods:
- Oxidative polymerization for PoPDA synthesis.
- Sol-gel method for [PoPDA/TiO2]MNC synthesis.
- Physical vapor deposition (PVD) for thin film deposition.
- X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for structural and morphological analysis.
- UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy for optical property measurement.
- Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) for geometrical optimization.
- Wemple-DiDomenico model for refractive index dispersion analysis.
Main Results:
- Successfully synthesized [PoPDA/TiO2]MNC thin films with good adhesion and thickness of ~100 nm via PVD.
- Characterized structural and morphological properties using XRD and SEM.
- Measured optical properties (reflectance, absorbance, transmittance) and analyzed refractive index dispersion.
- Calculated optical constants including single oscillator energy (Eo) and dispersion energy (Ed).
- Achieved a notable efficiency of 19.69% for the composite material.
Conclusions:
- The [PoPDA/TiO2]MNC thin films exhibit promising properties for optoelectronic applications.
- The developed nanocomposite material is a viable candidate for next-generation solar cells.
- Further research can optimize these materials for enhanced device performance.


