Poly(3-methylthiophene-co-3-octylthiophene) based solid-state photoelectrochemical device

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Abstract

The copolymer, poly(3-methylthiophene-co-3-octylthiophene), was electrochemically synthesized from a mixture of 3-methylthiophene and 3-octylthiophene. Once the best condition for the copolymer formation was obtained a solid-state photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) was constructed and studied. The PEC contains the photoactive material poly(3-methylthiophene-co-3-octylthiophene), poly(3MT-co-3OT), coated on indium doped tin oxide (ITO) coated glass, an amorphous poly(ethylene oxide), POMOE, an ion conducting polymer electrolyte complexed with I3-/I- redox couple and an electrochemically polymerized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) coated on ITO-coated glass as a counter electrode. An open-circuit voltage of 165 mV and a short circuit current of 0.21 µA cm-2 were obtained with light illumination of approximately 100 mW cm-2. Incident monochromatic photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE%) of 0.51 for front side (ITO/PEDOT) illumination and 0.15 for backside (ITO/poly(3MT-co-3OT)) illumination at wavelength of 460 nm were obtained. In addition, dependence of the short circuit current and open circuit voltage on light intensity and time of illumination were studied.

Translated abstract

O copolímero, poli(3-metiltiofeno-co-3-octiltiofeno), foi sintetizado eletroquimicamente a partir de mistura de 3-metiltiofeno e 3-octiltiofeno. Foi construída e estudada uma célula foto-eletroquímica do estado sólido (CFE) utilizando as melhores condições de formação do copolímero. A célula foto-eletroquímica continha material foto-ativo poli(3-metiltiofeno-co-3-octiltiofeno), poli(3MT-co-3OT), vidro recoberto com óxido de estanho dopado com índio (OEI), poli(óxido de etileno) amorfo, (POEA), eletrólito polimérico condutor complexado com o par redox I3-/I- e um poli(3,4-etilenodioxitiofeno) polimerizado eletroquimicamente (PEDOT) sobre OEI como um contra-eletrodo. Sob iluminação de 100 mW cm-2 aproximadamente, foi obtida uma voltagem de circuito aberto de 165 mV e corrente de curto-circuito de 0.21 µA cm-2. A eficiência de conversão da corrente-fóton monocromático incidente (IPCE%) para iluminação frontal foi igual a 0.51 (OEI/PEDOT) e 0.15 para iluminação de fundo, considerando o comprimento de onda de 460 nm. Além disso, foram estudadas a dependência da corrente de curto-circuito com a voltagem de circuito aberto em relação à intensidade da luz e ao tempo de iluminação.

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Is Open Access

Polymer/Nanocrystal Hybrid Solar Cells: Influence of Molecular Precursor Design on Film Nanomorphology, Charge Generation and Device Performance

Andrew J MacLachlan, Thomas Rath, Ute Cappel … (2014)

In this work, molecular tuning of metal xanthate precursors is shown to have a marked effect on the heterojunction morphology of hybrid poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT)/CdS blends and, as a result, the photochemical processes and overall performance of in situ fabricated hybrid solar cells. A series of cadmium xanthate complexes is synthesized for use as in situ precursors to cadmium sulfide nanoparticles in hybrid P3HT/CdS solar cells. The formation of CdS domains is studied by simultaneous GIWAXS (grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering) and GISAXS (grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering), revealing knowledge about crystal growth and the formation of different morphologies observed using TEM (transmission electron microscopy). These measurements show that there is a strong relationship between precursor structure and heterojunction nanomorphology. A combination of TAS (transient absorption spectroscopy) and photovoltaic device performance measurements is used to show the intricate balance required between charge photogeneration and percolated domains in order to effectively extract charges to maximize device power conversion efficiencies. This study presents a strong case for xanthate complexes as a useful route to designing optimal heterojunction morphologies for use in the emerging field of hybrid organic/inorganic solar cells, due to the fact that the nanomorphology can be tuned via careful design of these precursor materials.