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Efficient inverted hybrid solar cells using both CuO and P3HT as an electron donor materials

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Abstract

Copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (<50 nm) were incorporated in the P3HT—poly(3-hexylthiophene):PCBM-[6,6]—phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. The ratio of P3HT to CuO in the blend was varied, while maintaining the fixed ratio of PCBM. The addition of CuO nanoparticles was found to significantly improve the power conversion efficiency in the P3HT:PCBM solar cells under AM 1.5 G and 100 mW/cm2 irradiation. The mixing of CuO in the active layer widens the light absorption range and introduced a red shift in the absorption spectra. The CuO-conjugated active layer increased the surface roughness. The CuO nanoparticles agglomerated in the blend as their concentration relative to P3HT increased in the active layer.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to acknowledge the financial support of higher education commission (HEC) Pakistan for 6 month scholar (IRSIP) in Queen’s University Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Solar Cell Applications Research Lab, Department of Physics, Government College University, Lahore, 54000, Punjab, Pakistan

    M. Ikram & S. Ali

  2. Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 29 Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100190, China

    M. Imran

  3. Department of Physics, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada

    M. Ikram & J. M. Nunzi

  4. Department of Chemistry, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada

    M. Ikram & J. M. Nunzi

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  1. M. Ikram
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  4. S. Ali
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Correspondence to M. Ikram.

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Ikram, M., Imran, M., Nunzi, J.M. et al. Efficient inverted hybrid solar cells using both CuO and P3HT as an electron donor materials. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 26, 6478–6483 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-015-3239-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-015-3239-1

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