Interfacial Chemical Bridging Constructed by Multifunctional Lewis Acid for Carbon Nanotube/Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells with an Efficiency Approaching 17.7%

Abstract

Single-wall carbon nanotube/silicon (SWCNT/Si) heterojunction shows appealing potential for use in photovoltaic devices. However, the relatively low conductivity of SWCNT network and interfacial recombination of carriers have limited their photovoltaic performance. Herein, a multifunctional Lewis acid (p-toluenesulfonic acid, TsOH) is used to significantly reduce the energy loss in SWCNT/Si solar cells. Owing to the charge transfer doping effect of TsOH, the conductivity and work function of SWCNT films are optimized and tuned. More importantly, a chemical bridge is constructed at the interface of SWCNT/Si heterojunction. Experimental studies indicate that the phenyl group of TsOH can interact with SWCNTs through π–π interaction, meanwhile, the oxygen in the sulfonic functional group of the TsOH molecule can graft on the dangling bonds of the Si surface. The chemical bridge structure effectively suppresses the recombination of photogenerated carriers. The TsOH coating also works as an antireflection layer, leading to a 19% increment of the photocurrent. As a result, a champion power conversion efficiency of 17.7% is achieved for the TsOH-SWCNT/Si device, and it also exhibits an excellent stability, retaining more than 96% of the initial efficiency in the ambient air after 1 month.