Abstract
We have studied hybrid solar cells based on the polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and colloidal CdSe nanocrystals. Using CdSe nanospheres with varying size, we have found that the power conversion efficiency (ηP) of these devices increases monotonically with the CdSe nanocrystal size, from ηP=(0.39±0.04)% under AM1.5G solar illumination for 4.0±0.2 nm size nanospheres to ηP=(1.9±0.2)% for 6.8±0.5 nm size nanospheres. The efficiency increase with nanocrystal size is mostly due to a significant increase in the short-circuit current, whereas the open-circuit voltage and fill factor of the solar cells are less affected. The devices also exhibit abnormal initial aging behavior when exposed to air, as an increase in both the short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage during the first 30 min leads to a significant increase in ηP.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 476-482 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells |
Volume | 95 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2011 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Solar Energy Technology Program of the U.S. Department of Energy and the CAREER Program of the National Science Foundation . Aiwei Tang is also grateful to China Scholarship Council for financial support.
Keywords
- Colloidal nanocrystals
- Conjugated polymers
- Device aging
- Hybrid solar cells
- Organic solar cells
- Size effect