To improve the efficiency of bulk heterojunction organic solar cells by incorporating CdSe/ZnS quantum dots

Abstract

The efficiency of bulk heterojunction solar cells was enhanced by incorporating CdSe/ZnS core- shell colloidal quantum dots. (CQDs) into copolymers of poly(3- hexylthiophene. (P3HT) and [6,6]- phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester. (PCBM) as the active layer, as result of the increased absorption in the visible region. The doping of CdSe/ZnS CQDs in the active layer and the influence of CQD surface ligands on device performance were investigated. A maximum power conversion efficiency. (PCE) of 3.99% was obtained from the optimized solar cell ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:PCBM:(CdSe/ZnS)/Al. (ITO: indium-tin oxide; PEDOT: poly(3,4-ethylendioxythiophene; PSS: poly(styrenesulfonate)) under AM1.5 illumination. This was 45.1% improvement on the PCE of the control device ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:PCBM/Al. © Editorial office of Acta Physico-Chimica Sinica.