Journal Article

Bandgap engineering of PEDOT:PSS/rGO a hole transport layer for SiNWs hybrid solar cells

Swain, Bibhu P, Biswas, Joydeep, Rai, Sadhna, Bhujel, Rabina, Deka, Utpal, Sarkar, Gautam

2021

Overview

Silicon nanowire (SiNW) hybrid solar cell has been fabricated using PEDOT:PSS and rGO-PEDOT:PSS as the organic hole transport layer. The electrical characterization of the as-fabricated solar cell was done by both dark and photo J–V characteristic curves. Vertically aligned arrays of SiNWs have been synthesized by following the electroless metal-assisted chemical etching method, as confirmed by both the scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy images. The structural properties of SiNWs, PEDOT:PSS and rGO-PEDOT:PSS were characterized with the help of X-ray diffraction and Raman characterization techniques. The bandgap of PEDOT:PSS comes out to be 1.77 eV as obtained from the UV–visible and photoluminescence spectra. In addition, the bandgap of PEDOT:PSS was 1.76 eV and for reduced graphene oxide (rGO) it was 0.04 eV, as obtained from the cyclic voltammetry curve. rGO-PEDOT:PSS heterojunction showed excellent J–V characteristic property in the dark and under the illumination of 1 sun. Hence the incorporation of rGO in PEDOT:PSS can improve the photovoltaic properties by increasing the conductivity of the hole transport layer, making a good interface between organic–inorganic heterojunction as well as by reducing the recombination of electron–hole pairs.

• Publisher: Indian Academy of Sciences,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Chemical etching / Chemistry and Materials Science / Efficiency / Electrical properties / Electrodes / Energy gap / Engineering / Etching / Fourier transforms / Graphene / Heterojunctions / Materials Science / Microscopy / Nanowires / Photoluminescence / Photovoltaic cells / Scanning electron microscopy / Solar cells