Analysis and modification of defective surface aggregates on PCDTBT:PCBM solar cell blends using combined Kelvin probe, conductive and bimodal atomic force microscopy

• Hanaul Noh,
• Alfredo J. Diaz and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 579–589, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.62

• confirms that the aggregates exist on top of the solar cell structure, and is used to remove them and to reveal the underlying active layer. The systematic analysis of the surface aggregates suggests that the structure consists of PCBM molecules. Keywords: conductive atomic force microscopy; Kelvin probe

• that forward and reverse currents are fully restored. Our systematic approach using combined KPFM, C-AFM and bimodal AFM in polymer solar cell studies can help elucidate unidentified structures at the nanoscale. Experimental Solution preparation Anhydrous 99.8% chlorobenzene (Sigma-Aldrich, 284513) and

Study of the surface properties of ZnO nanocolumns used for thin-film solar cells

• Neda Neykova,
• Jiri Stuchlik,
• Karel Hruska,
• Ales Poruba,
• Zdenek Remes and
• Ognen Pop-Georgievski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 446–451, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.48

• surface properties of ZnO NCs and the binding state of present elements were investigated before and after different plasma treatments, typically used in plasma-enhanced CVD solar cell deposition processes, by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Photothermal deflection spectroscopy (PDS) was used to

• . Solar cell deposition is a multistep process during which different plasma processes are being used. Oxygen plasma is applied for both, activation of the surface and stripping of the polymer mask used for fabrication of periodically ordered ZnO NCs, while hydrogen plasma is usually used immediately

• before the deposition of the active solar-cell layer for directly increasing the electrical conductivity. The employed plasma treatments could significantly influence the concentration of defects and free carriers, reflected in the defect and free-carrier adsorption, and consequently impact the

Role of oxygen in wetting of copper nanoparticles on silicon surfaces at elevated temperature

• Tapas Ghosh and
• Biswarup Satpati

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 425–433, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.45

• voltage for a p-CuO/n-Si heterojunction solar cell is 0.33 V [26] and after improving the crystalline quality and the interface quality between the CuO and the Si, an increased open circuit voltage of 0.509 V and a high photocurrent density of 12 mA/cm2 have been achieved [25]. Therefore, it is important

Functionalized TiO₂ nanoparticles by single-step hydrothermal synthesis: the role of the silane coupling agents

• Antoine R. M. Dalod,
• Lars Henriksen,
• Tor Grande and
• Mari-Ann Einarsrud

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 304–312, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.33

• synthesis often leads to poorly crystalline particles [22]. Hydrothermal synthesis [23] is simple and cost efficient [24] and allows for improved crystallinity compared to sol–gel methods [22] giving improved TiO2 characteristics for applications such as photocatalysis and solar cell applications [2][25][26

Performance of natural-dye-sensitized solar cells by ZnO nanorod and nanowall enhanced photoelectrodes

• Saif Saadaoui,
• Mohamed Aziz Ben Youssef,
• Moufida Ben Karoui,
• Rached Gharbi,
• Emanuele Smecca,
• Vincenzina Strano,
• Salvo Mirabella,
• Alessandra Alberti and
• Rosaria A. Puglisi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 287–295, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.31

• dyes extracted from henna and mallow plants. We discuss also their application to different semiconductor structures. The photoelectrode is regarded as an important part in the DSSC where it represents the electron generator of the cell. Solar cell parameters, such as open-circuit voltage (Voc), short

Performance of colloidal CdS sensitized solar cells with ZnO nanorods/nanoparticles

• Anurag Roy,
• Partha Pratim Das,
• Mukta Tathavadekar,
• Sumita Das and
• Parukuttyamma Sujatha Devi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 210–221, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.23

• AM 1.5). A standard silicon solar cell (serial number 189/PVM351) from Newport, U.S. was used as a reference cell. The active area of the fabricated cells used for photovoltaic measurement was 0.25 cm2. Further, the I–V characteristics under normal light on CdS-sensitized ZnO films were measured

Tandem polymer solar cells: simulation and optimization through a multiscale scheme

• Fanan Wei,
• Ligang Yao,
• Fei Lan,
• Guangyong Li and
• Lianqing Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 123–133, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.13

• realized by increasing the applied voltage on one sub-cell and decreasing the voltage on the other one by the same amount, while keeping the total applied voltage constant. Applying the same rule, the whole J–V curve was acquired by going through all the voltage points. Tandem polymer solar cell

• through both simplex algorithm and GA. The optimized tandem device parameters were in agreement with those reported in fabricated devices. This work not only provides promising guidance for tandem polymer solar cell fabrication, but also sheds light on the fundamental principles of tandem photovoltaic

Sb₂S₃ grown by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis and its application in a hybrid solar cell

• Erki Kärber,
• Atanas Katerski,
• Ilona Oja Acik,
• Arvo Mere,
• Valdek Mikli and
• Malle Krunks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1662–1673, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.158

• /cm2, a fill factor of 42% and a conversion efficiency of 1.3%. Conversion efficiencies up to 1.9% were obtained from solar cells with smaller areas. Keywords: absorber; chemical spray pyrolysis (CSP); hybrid solar cell; stibnite (Sb2S3); ultrasonic atomization; Introduction A solution-based

• hole conductor coupled with inorganic materials leads to the notation of a hybrid solar cell [13]. Based on dense TiO2 covered by mesoporous TiO2 and then impregnated with a light harvester, the resulting solar cells are commonly referred to as mesoscopic solar cells [14] the first of which, based on

• sulfide [27] and tin sulfide [28][29] grown by pneumatic CSP. At the time of the present study, no publications were available on ultrasonically spray-grown Sb2S3, and on the application of any CSP-grown Sb2S3 in a solar cell, apart from a photoelectrochemical cell that showed an efficiency of 0.3% [30

Scanning probe microscopy studies on the adsorption of selected molecular dyes on titania

• Jakub S. Prauzner-Bechcicki,
• Lukasz Zajac,
• Piotr Olszowski,
• Res Jöhr,
• Antoine Hinaut,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Bartosz Such,
• Ernst Meyer and
• Marek Szymonski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1642–1653, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.156

• the titania–sensitizer interface. In the following paper, we review the recent scanning probe microscopic research of a certain group of molecular assemblies on rutile titania surfaces as it pertains to dye-sensitized solar cell applications. We focus on experiments on adsorption of three types of

• ) utilizing titania as a semiconducting electrode has consistently increased [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. In the following paper, we review some of the recent research of molecular assemblies on rutile titania surfaces as it pertains to dye-sensitized solar cell applications. Review Prototypical systems

• ) islands. Pc molecules There are very few reports available for TiO2 and phthalocyanines in planar heterojunction solar cell applications (see [42] and the references therein). In a few cases among these studies, scanning probe microscopy was used to examine the properties of the Pc/TiO2 interface itself

The effect of dry shear aligning of nanotube thin films on the photovoltaic performance of carbon nanotube–silicon solar cells

• Benedikt W. Stolz,
• Daniel D. Tune and
• Benjamin S. Flavel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1486–1491, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.141

• by solution shearing. It was further suggested that perhaps such films may yield similar improvements in carbon nanotube–silicon solar cell performance [43]. To address this question, we report herein the results of a direct comparison between two sets of solar cells fabricated with either, a

• trends are somewhat different; the relative difference in sheet resistance is lowest at the two ends of the transmittance range, and is greatest in the middle of the range, whereas the relative difference in the solar cell performance (as seen most clearly in the short circuit current density, Figure 3b

• optical conductivity with film thickness for random and aligned SWCNT films. The variation of solar cell parameters with nanotube film thickness for films both before (red diamonds) and after (black triangles) DSA, a) open circuit voltage, b) short circuit current density, c) fill factor and, d) power

Photocurrent generation in carbon nanotube/cubic-phase HfO₂ nanoparticle hybrid nanocomposites

• Protima Rauwel,
• Augustinas Galeckas,
• Martin Salumaa,
• Frédérique Ducroquet and
• Erwan Rauwel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1075–1085, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.101

• conduction via the CNT. To date, numerous studies have been reported on the decoration of CNTs with metal oxides including TiO2 [7][8] and ZnO [9] for solar cell applications and SnO2 for gas sensors. Reports on the fabrication of an all carbon nanocomposite combining CNTs, graphene and carbon quantum dots

• (CQDs) are available [10]. Recently, Yu et. al studied the charge transfer mechanism in CQD–graphene composite and have emphasized its potential as a hot carrier, solar cell material [11]. However, CQDs still need further investigation as their optical properties tend to vary with the synthesis route

Bacteriorhodopsin–ZnO hybrid as a potential sensing element for low-temperature detection of ethanol vapour

• Saurav Kumar,
• Sudeshna Bagchi,
• Senthil Prasad,
• Anupma Sharma,
• Ritesh Kumar,
• Rishemjit Kaur,
• Jagvir Singh and
• Amol P. Bhondekar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 501–510, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.44

• inorganic materials in order to overcome the intrinsic limitations of ZnO (i.e., poor selectivity and high working temperature) [31][32][33]. Metal/metal oxide–bR hybrids were previously reported for bio-optoelectronic and solar cell applications [7][20]. However, a hybrid structure employing ZnO and bR

Synthesis and applications of carbon nanomaterials for energy generation and storage

• Marco Notarianni,
• Jinzhang Liu,
• Kristy Vernon and
• Nunzio Motta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 149–196, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.17

• ]. Figure 31 shows the best solar cell efficiencies reported by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the United States over the last 40 years. Of note is that the organic solar cell efficiencies increased from 4 to 12% (record established by Heliatek in 2013 for a tandem, organic solar cell

• with fullerene derivatives (electron acceptor material) [188]. The generation of a photocurrent due to light incident upon an organic solar cell device consists of three steps (Figure 32) [189][190]: Photon absorption in the conducting polymer (donor material). Creation of an exciton. An exciton is a

• 10 years for energy generation and storage. In particular, the possibility to include these nanostructured materials using lightweight flexible substrates, printable inks, low temperature and ambient pressure fabrication tools allows for a dramatic reduction in production costs [15]. Organic solar

Dependence of lattice strain relaxation, absorbance, and sheet resistance on thickness in textured ZnO@B transparent conductive oxide for thin-film solar cell applications

• Kuang-Yang Kou,
• Yu-En Huang,
• Chien-Hsun Chen and
• Shih-Wei Feng

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 75–80, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.9

• used for thin film, solar cell applications is investigated. The residual strain induced by the lattice mismatch and the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient for thicker ZnO@B is relaxed, leading to an increased surface texture, stronger absorbance, larger grain size, and lower sheet

• deposit such a transparent, textured, and highly conductive TCO [9]. For thin-film solar cell applications, the LPCVD-grown ZnO can possess an as-grown textured structure to enhance light scattering and to increase the optical path through the solar cell without any post-treatment. Because the structural

• better transparency. Second, a textured surface can be easily achieved for a ZnO@B film grown by LPCVD, which can enhance light scattering and increase the optical path through the solar cell without any post-treatment. However, many important issues regarding optical and material characteristics in

Current–voltage characteristics of manganite–titanite perovskite junctions

• Benedikt Ifland,
• Patrick Peretzki,
• Birte Kressdorf,
• Philipp Saring,
• Andreas Kelling,
• Michael Seibt and
• Christian Jooss

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1467–1484, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.152

• resistances describe losses, which reduce the efficiency of a solar cell. The series resistor, RS, consists of all bulk, interface and cable resistances and the parallel resistor, RP, represents losses, for example, leakage currents across the junction due to imperfections. Another important variable is the

• current in the reverse direction stems from a voltage dependence of JS, where breakdown mechanisms can be excluded. The measurements are performed during the cooling down and heating of the solar cell and deliver reproducible data (the data from heating process is not shown here). In contrast to this

• across the interface at lower temperatures is increased. Both effects are an important prerequisite for the analysis of the polaronic carriers on the energy conversion in a correlated oxide solar cell. Evaluation of the measured diffusion

Electronic interaction in composites of a conjugated polymer and carbon nanotubes: first-principles calculation and photophysical approaches

• Florian Massuyeau,
• Jany Wéry,
• Jean-Luc Duvail,
• Serge Lefrant,
• Abu Yaya,
• Chris Ewels and
• Eric Faulques

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1138–1144, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.115

• fascinating perspectives to improve exciton dissociation and carrier transport in conjugated polymer composite systems by adapting the polymer properties, for example for solar cell development. PL quantum yields and photoconductivity data of PPV/SWNT composite films converted at Tc = 573 K. (a) photocurrent

A simple approach to the synthesis of Cu_1.8S dendrites with thiamine hydrochloride as a sulfur source and structure-directing agent

• Xiaoliang Yan,
• Sha Li,
• Yun-xiang Pan,
• Zhi Yang and
• Xuguang Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 881–885, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.90

• attention due to its versatile applications in solar cell, electrochemistry, catalysis, and as a gas sensor [1][2][3][4][5]. Many strategies have been developed to prepare Cu1.8S. A solvent-mediated methodology was employed to synthesize highly crystalline Cu1.8S by element copper and sulfur at room

Applications of three-dimensional carbon nanotube networks

• Manuela Scarselli,
• Paola Castrucci,
• Francesco De Nicola,
• Ilaria Cacciotti,
• Francesca Nanni,
• Emanuela Gatto,
• Mariano Venanzi and
• Maurizio De Crescenzi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 792–798, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.82

• -sensitized solar cell (DSC) [26]. The CNT-sponge was directly transferred onto a conductive substrate to make a counter electrode (CE), exploiting its good electrical and mechanical properties. A photoelectric conversion efficiency of about 6.2% was achieved for the DSC with a CNT-sponge CE, compared to 7.6

• % of that with Pt CEs. Recently, our research group showed that 2D films made of pristine MWCNTs can be used as optically active medium for light energy conversion in a solar cell device [27]. Accordingly, we performed a similar measurement using a piece of CNT-sponge, which possesses a self-supporting

Carrier multiplication in silicon nanocrystals: ab initio results

• Ivan Marri,
• Marco Govoni and
• Stefano Ossicini

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 343–352, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.33

• Engineering, The University of Chicago, 5555 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States 10.3762/bjnano.6.33 Abstract One of the most important goals in the field of renewable energy is the development of original solar cell schemes employing new materials to overcome the performance

• limitations of traditional solar cell devices. Among such innovative materials, nanostructures have emerged as an important class of materials that can be used to realize efficient photovoltaic devices. When these systems are implemented into solar cells, new effects can be exploited to maximize the harvest

• of solar radiation and to minimize the loss factors. In this context, carrier multiplication seems one promising way to minimize the effects induced by thermalization loss processes thereby significantly increasing the solar cell power conversion. In this work we analyze and quantify different types

Low-cost plasmonic solar cells prepared by chemical spray pyrolysis

• Erki Kärber,
• Atanas Katerski,
• Ilona Oja Acik,
• Valdek Mikli,
• Arvo Mere,
• Ilmo Sildos and
• Malle Krunks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2398–2402, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.249

• external quantum efficiency spectra were used to evaluate the solar cell performance. This work investigates the effect of the location of the Au-NP layer deposition (front side vs rear side) in the solar cell and the effect of varying the volume (2.5–10 mL) of the sprayed Au precursor solution. A 63

• % increase (from 4.6 to 7.5 mA/cm2) of the short-circuit current density was observed when 2.5 mL of the precursor solution was deposited onto the rear side of the solar cell. Keywords: Au nanoparticles; chemical spray pyrolysis; extremely thin absorber; plasmon resonance; solar cell; Introduction The cost

• , while providing a technologically simple method for solar cell production. Chemical spray pyrolysis (CSP) is a simple method to produce thin semiconductor oxide- and sulphide layers and metal nanoparticles (NPs) via thermal decomposition of metal precursor salts. CuInS2 (CIS) is a semiconductor material

Silicon and germanium nanocrystals: properties and characterization

• Ivana Capan,
• Alexandra Carvalho and
• José Coutinho

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1787–1794, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.189

• breakthroughs in photovoltaics. It is believed that quantum dot (QD) solar cells have the potential to reach a maximum conversion efficiency of about 66% [2]. A colloidal nanocrystal solar cell, which combines all the advantages of organics (scalable and controllable synthesis) with transport properties

Growth evolution and phase transition from chalcocite to digenite in nanocrystalline copper sulfide: Morphological, optical and electrical properties

• Priscilla Vasthi Quintana-Ramirez,
• Ma. Concepción Arenas-Arrocena,
• José Santos-Cruz,
• Marina Vega-González,
• Omar Martínez-Alvarez,
• Víctor Manuel Castaño-Meneses,
• Laura Susana Acosta-Torres and
• Javier de la Fuente-Hernández

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1542–1552, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.166

• solar cell applications. In Table 2 we observe a clear decrease of Eg from 1.87 to 1.60 eV from crystalline chalcocite to the digenite phase, which is in agreement to the increasing crystal size observed with TEM. These values are slightly smaller to those reported for bulk copper sulfide (1.7 and 2.0

An insight into the mechanism of charge-transfer of hybrid polymer:ternary/quaternary chalcopyrite colloidal nanocrystals

• Parul Chawla,
• Son Singh and
• Shailesh Narain Sharma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1235–1244, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.137

• photovoltaics [5][6]. To this day, numerous inorganic semiconductors such as ZnO, TiO2, CdSe, CdS, PbSe and PbS have been studied. Particular focus has been put on the investigation of selenides or sulfides in conjunction with organic polymers (MEH-PPV, P3HT) for hybrid solar cell applications [6][7]. However

• , the toxicity and hazardous issues of inorganic materials, in particular of Cd and Pb, poses a serious threat to the environment. This has limited the realization of hybrid solar cell systems for commercialization [7]. On the other hand, copper indium diselenide (CISe) and related materials in

• displays similar structure and optical properties to CISe. In order to achieve an efficient hybrid solar cell performance, it is imperative to control the morphology of both organic and inorganic components without any phase separation at macroscopic scale. The implementation of such a control of the

Organic and inorganic–organic thin film structures by molecular layer deposition: A review

• Pia Sundberg and
• Maarit Karppinen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1104–1136, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.123

• films include optoelectronic devices, sensors, flexible electronics, solar cell applications, and protective coatings, to name only a few. It is also straightforward to make porous structures from the ALD/MLD grown hybrids by removing the organic part by simple annealing or wet-etching procedures [15

Growth and characterization of CNT–TiO₂ heterostructures

• Yucheng Zhang,
• Ivo Utke,
• Johann Michler,
• Gabriele Ilari,
• Marta D. Rossell and
• Rolf Erni

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 946–955, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.108

• on large area polystyrene bead arrays [31]. After removing the polystyrene, a transparent, electrically conductive, hollow sphere array was obtained on top of which an urchin-inspired nanobuilding block design of a solar cell with n-type ZnO nanowires could be realized by using electrochemical