Solar Cell Based on Hybrid Structural SiNW/Poly(3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene): Poly(styrenesulfonate)/Graphene

Abstract

Solar energy is considered as a potential alternative energy source. The solar cell is classified into three main types: i) solar cells based on bulk silicon materials (monocrystalline, polycrystalline), ii) thin-film solar cells (CIGS, CdTe, DSSC, etc.), and iii) solar cells based on nanostructures and nanomaterials. Nowadays, commercial solar cells are usually made by bulk silicon material, which requires not only high fabrication costs but also limited performance. In this study, the fabrication of high-performance solar cells based on hybrid structure of silicon nanowires/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)/graphene (SiNW/PEDOT:PSS/Gr) is focused upon. SiNWs with different lengths of 125, 400, 800 nm, and 2 µm are fabricated by a metal-assisted chemical etching method, and their influence on the performance of the hybrid solar cells is studied and investigated. The experimental results indicate that the suitable SiNW length for the fabrication of the hybrid solar cells is about 400 nm and the best power conversion efficiency obtained is about 9.05%, which is about 2.1 times higher than that of the planar Si solar cell.