Controlling the morphology of trioctyl phosphine oxide-coated cadmium selenide/poly 3-hexyl thiophene composite active layer for bulk hetero-junction solar cells

Nguyen Tam Nguyen Truong; Matthew Lowell Monroe; Umme Farva; Timothy James Anderson; Chinho Park

Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol.28, No.7, 1625-1631, July, 2011

DOI10.1007/s11814-011-0015-7 Export Citation

Controlling the morphology of trioctyl phosphine oxide-coated cadmium selenide/poly 3-hexyl thiophene composite active layer for bulk hetero-junction solar cells

Nguyen Tam Nguyen Truong, Matthew Lowell Monroe¹, Umme Farva², Timothy James Anderson¹, and Chinho Park^†

School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 712-749, Korea
¹Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, U.S.A., USA
²Research Center for Ultra Precision Sci. & Tech., Osaka University, Japan

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Bulk hetero-junction solar cells with CdSe nanoparticles-P3HT (poly 3-hexyl thiophene)composite active layer were fabricated, and the control of morphological feature of the nanoparticle-polymer composite thin films was investigated. A binary solvent composed of a primary solvent with intermediate polarity and a secondary solvent with high polarity was found to be effective in controlling the dispersion of the CdSe nanocrystals in the P3HT matrix, and the modification of the nanocrystal surface by liquid-liquid extraction process was found to be effective in achieving the desired composite film morphology. Surface roughness of the active layer was optimized for various loadings of CdSe nanoparticles and could be reproducibly controlled to less than 10 nm.

Keywords:Bulk Hetero-junction Solar Cell;Active Layer;CdSe Quantum Dot;Conjugated Polymer;Nanoparticle Dispersion

[References]

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Kim JY, Lee KH, Coates EN, Moses D, Nguyen TQ, Dante M, Heeger JA, Science., 317, 222 (2007)
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Hoppe H, Sariciftci NS, Organic Photovoltaics, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, 217 FL (2005)
Chirvase D, Chguvare Z, Knipper M, Parisi V, Dyakonov V, Hummelen CJ, J. Appl. Phys., 93, 3376 (2003)
Greenham CN, Peng X, Alivisatos PA, Synthetic Metals., 84, 545 (1997)
Shaheen E, Christoph J, Sariciftci S, Appl. Phys. Lett., 78, 841 (2001)
Sacriciftci NS, Heeger AJ, Wudl F, Science., 258, 1474 (1992)
Yang CY, Heeger JA, Synthetic Metals., 83, 85 (1996)
Gur I, Fromer NA, Chen C, Kanaras AG, Alivisatos AP, Nano. Lett., 7, 409 (2007)
Sun B, Snaith HJ, Dhoot AS, Westenhoff S, Greenham NC, J. Appl. Phys., 97, 014914 (2005)
Sun B, Greenham NC, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 8, 3557 (2006)
Dayal S, Kopidakis N, Olson DC, Ginley DS, Rumbles G, Nano Lett., 10, 239 (2010)
Donega CM, Liljeroth P, Vanmaekelbergh D, Small., 1, 1152 (2005)
Farva U, Park C, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells., 94, 303 (2010)
Kim YW, Monroe ML, Seol J, Truong NTN, Cho SM, Anderson TJ, Park C, Korean J. Chem. Eng., 25(5), 1036 (2008)
Ma WL, Yang CY, Gong X, Lee K, Heeger AJ, Adv. Funct. Mater., 15(10), 1617 (2005)
Monroe ML, Kim YW, Truong NTN, Na YH, Seo LJ, Anderson TJ, Park C, Effect of Surface Modification by Solvent Exchange on Hybrid Bulk Hetero-junction Solar Cell Performance, Materials Research Society Conference, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A., 9-13, April (2007)
Huynh WU, Dittmer JJ, Libby WC, Whiting GL, Alivisatos AP, Adv. Funct. Mater., 13(1), 73 (2003)
Schilinsky P, Waldauf C, Brabec CJ, Appl. Phys. Lett., 81, 3885 (2002)
Truong NTN, Farva U, Kim YW, Na YH, Park C, Controlling the Morphology of Nanocrystal-Polymer Composite for Bulk Hetero-junction Solar Cells, PVSEC-17, Fukuoka, Japan, 3- 7, December (2007)

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[1] Tang WC, Appl. Phys. Lett., 48, 183 (1986)

[2] Peuman P, Yakimov A, Forrest R, J. Appl. Phys., 93, 3248 (2003)

[3] Kim JY, Lee KH, Coates EN, Moses D, Nguyen TQ, Dante M, Heeger JA, Science., 317, 222 (2007)

[4] Yu G, Heeger JA, J. Appl. Phys., 78, 4510 (1995)

[5] Hoppe H, Sariciftci NS, Organic Photovoltaics, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, 217 FL (2005)

[6] Chirvase D, Chguvare Z, Knipper M, Parisi V, Dyakonov V, Hummelen CJ, J. Appl. Phys., 93, 3376 (2003)

[7] Greenham CN, Peng X, Alivisatos PA, Synthetic Metals., 84, 545 (1997)

[8] Shaheen E, Christoph J, Sariciftci S, Appl. Phys. Lett., 78, 841 (2001)

[9] Sacriciftci NS, Heeger AJ, Wudl F, Science., 258, 1474 (1992)

[10] Yang CY, Heeger JA, Synthetic Metals., 83, 85 (1996)

[11] Gur I, Fromer NA, Chen C, Kanaras AG, Alivisatos AP, Nano. Lett., 7, 409 (2007)

[12] Sun B, Snaith HJ, Dhoot AS, Westenhoff S, Greenham NC, J. Appl. Phys., 97, 014914 (2005)

[13] Sun B, Greenham NC, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 8, 3557 (2006)

[14] Dayal S, Kopidakis N, Olson DC, Ginley DS, Rumbles G, Nano Lett., 10, 239 (2010)

[15] Donega CM, Liljeroth P, Vanmaekelbergh D, Small., 1, 1152 (2005)

[16] Farva U, Park C, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells., 94, 303 (2010)

[17] Kim YW, Monroe ML, Seol J, Truong NTN, Cho SM, Anderson TJ, Park C, Korean J. Chem. Eng., 25(5), 1036 (2008)

[18] Ma WL, Yang CY, Gong X, Lee K, Heeger AJ, Adv. Funct. Mater., 15(10), 1617 (2005)

[19] Monroe ML, Kim YW, Truong NTN, Na YH, Seo LJ, Anderson TJ, Park C, Effect of Surface Modification by Solvent Exchange on Hybrid Bulk Hetero-junction Solar Cell Performance, Materials Research Society Conference, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A., 9-13, April (2007)

[20] Huynh WU, Dittmer JJ, Libby WC, Whiting GL, Alivisatos AP, Adv. Funct. Mater., 13(1), 73 (2003)

[21] Schilinsky P, Waldauf C, Brabec CJ, Appl. Phys. Lett., 81, 3885 (2002)

[22] Truong NTN, Farva U, Kim YW, Na YH, Park C, Controlling the Morphology of Nanocrystal-Polymer Composite for Bulk Hetero-junction Solar Cells, PVSEC-17, Fukuoka, Japan, 3- 7, December (2007)