Issue 3, 2016

Broad band plasmonic nanomaterials for high performance solar cells

Abstract

A large enhancement in the performance of solar cells, arising from plasmonic nanomaterials with a broad band absorption spectrum, is proposed. Gold nanorod-in-shell (Au NR-in-shell) nanomaterials can absorb photons covering the UV-visible-NIR region in contrast to the two distinct narrow peaks for bare Au NRs. The broad localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) induced light absorption enhancement as well as series resistance, carrier lifetime and device mobility for devices containing Au NR-in-shells are superior than those for Au NR devices. To illustrate our working principle, we implemented Au NR-in-shells in polymer solar cells, which resulted in high efficiency. This led to the realization of polythieno[3,4-b]-thiophene/benzodithiophene:[6,6]-phenyl C71 butyric acid methyl ester (PTB7:PC71BM) polymer solar cells (PSCs) with a power-conversion-efficiency (PCE) of 9.01%, which is more than twice the enhancement for that of Au NRs incorporated cells and sets the highest record reported to date for PTB7 based inverted devices adopting the plasmonic light trapping strategy. Our approach shown here is a key step for the further development of high performance optoelectronic devices.

Graphical abstract: Broad band plasmonic nanomaterials for high performance solar cells

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
29 Jul 2015
Accepted
03 Dec 2015
First published
07 Dec 2015

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2016,4, 513-520

Broad band plasmonic nanomaterials for high performance solar cells

Y. Sung, Y. Lai, M. Tsai, H. Hsieh, M. Yang, P. P. Wei, C. Yeh, F. Hsu and Y. Chen, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2016, 4, 513 DOI: 10.1039/C5TC02329G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements