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. 2022 Apr 5;12(17):10514-10521.
doi: 10.1039/d2ra01246d. eCollection 2022 Mar 31.

Enhanced power conversion efficiency of an n-Si/PEDOT:PSS hybrid solar cell using nanostructured silicon and gold nanoparticles

Pham Van Trinh  1   2 , Nguyen Ngoc Anh  1 , Nguyen Thi Cham  3 , Le Tuan Tu  3 , Nguyen Van Hao  4 , Bui Hung Thang  1 , Nguyen Van Chuc  1 , Cao Thi Thanh  1 , Phan Ngoc Minh  1   2 , Naoki Fukata  5
Affiliations

Enhanced power conversion efficiency of an n-Si/PEDOT:PSS hybrid solar cell using nanostructured silicon and gold nanoparticles

Pham Van Trinh et al. RSC Adv. .

Abstract

Herein, the effect of nanostructured silicon and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of an n-type silicon/poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (n-Si/PEDOT:PSS) hybrid solar cell was investigated. The Si surface modified with different nanostructures including Si nanopyramids (SiNPs), Si nanoholes (SiNHs) and Si nanowires (SiNWs) was utilized to improve light trapping and photo-carrier collection. The highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.15% was obtained with the hybrid solar cell employing SiNWs, which is about 8%, 20% and 40% higher compared to the devices using SiNHs, SiNPs and planar Si, respectively. The enhancement is attributed to the low reflectance of the SiNW structures and large PEDOT:PSS/Si interfacial area. In addition, the influence of AuNPs on the hybrid solar cell's performance was examined. The PCE of the SiNW/PEDOT:PSS hybrid solar cell with 0.5 wt% AuNP is 8.89%, which is ca. 9% higher than that of the device without AuNPs (8.15%). This is attributed to the increase in the electrical conductivity and localized surface plasmon resonance of the AuNP-incorporated PEDOT:PSS coating layer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no possible conflict of interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Schematic of the fabrication of: (a) SiNWs, (b and c) SiNHs and (d) SiNPs.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. SEM images of the top-viewed and cross sectional viewed (a1 and a2) SiNPs, (b1 and b2) SiNHs and (c1 and c2) SiNWs.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. SEM images of (a) SiNPs, (b) SiNHs and (c) SiNWs after PEDOT:PSS coating.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Reflectance spectra of planar Si, SiNPs, SiNHs and SiNWs in the incident wavelength range from 500 to 1200 nm.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5. (a) J–V characteristic curves of the hybrid solar cell using planar Si and Si nanostructures and (b) energy diagram of the n-Si/PEDOT:PSS hybrid solar cell.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6. (a) Optical absorption spectra and SEM image of AuNPs synthesized by chemical reduction method (b) sheet resistance of PEDOT:PSS thin films with and without AuNPs.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7. (a) Structure, (b) EQE spectrum, (c) J–V characteristic curves and (d) dark J–V curves of SiNW/PEDOT:PSS/AuNPs hybrid solar cells.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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