1. Influence of zinc oxide morphology in hybrid solar cells of poly(3-octylthiophene)
- Author
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Letícia Fernanda Gonçalves Larsson, Sandra Regina Masetto Antunes, Larissa Aparecida Corrêa Matos, Paulo Rogério Pinto Rodrigues, Guilherme Arielo Rodrigues Maia, Maico Taras da Cunha, Marilei de Fátima Oliveira, Aline Viomar, and Elaine Cristina Rodrigues Maia more...
- Subjects
010302 applied physics ,Conductive polymer ,Working electrode ,Materials science ,Open-circuit voltage ,Scanning electron microscope ,Nanotechnology ,02 engineering and technology ,Hybrid solar cell ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,Condensed Matter Physics ,01 natural sciences ,Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics ,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials ,Dielectric spectroscopy ,law.invention ,Electron transfer ,Chemical engineering ,law ,0103 physical sciences ,Solar cell ,Electrical and Electronic Engineering ,0210 nano-technology - Abstract
Hybrid solar cells of semiconductor oxides and conductive polymers have been broadly studied. Poly(3-octylthiophene) (P3OT), is an organic polymer formed by conjugated structures with conductive properties, photoluminescence, a relatively high charge mobility and stability. Zinc oxide (ZnO) has been used as an electron acceptor in this cell type because it offers great electron transport properties, simple manufacturing techniques, non-toxicity, variation and morphologic control. Different ZnO morphologies allow distinct properties in terms of electronic transport in solar cell interfaces. The objective of this paper was to evaluate whether ZnO with its different morphologies can improve the anchorage of P3OT and influence the conductive properties of hybrid solar cells of ZnO/P3OT. ZnO particles were synthetized by co-precipitation with Zn(NO3)2·6H2O in concentrations of 0.05, 0.10 and 0.15 mol L−1. The morphology was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the suspension was evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. Cells containing the working electrode (ZnO/P3OT) were evaluated by open circuit potential (Voc) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The SEM images showed three morphologies: spherical ZnO (ZnOE), hexagonal ZnO (ZnOH) and ZnO without defined morphology (ZnOM) due to the variation of the precursor salt concentration. Cells with different morphologies presented medium values of Voc = −0.438 ± 0.027 V. The EIS indicated that ZnOM/P3OT cells have lower values of charge transfer resistance and higher values of capacitance at intermediate frequencies. ZnOM/P3OT solar cells presented the best results in relation to the electron transfer processes. more...
- Published
- 2016
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