Preparation Of ZnO Whiskers And Their Application In Polymer Solar Cells

Polymer/inorganic-nanocrystal hybrid solar cell can effectively combine characteristics of the organic semiconductor and the inorganic nanoparticles and can take advantage of their synergies. It not only owns inorganic nanocrystals’ advantages of relatively high elctron mobility and outstanding physical and chemical stability, but also has the characteristics of polymer in processability and absorbing light. As a result, it has attracted more and more attentions.In this article, we focused on the preparation of ZnO nonmaterial and use it as electron acceptor in hybrid polymer solar cell. It is expected to improve the separation of exciton and electron transfer rate, as well as the stability and efficiency of photovoltaic cells. Major work includes the following contents:First, ZnO nanomaterials were prepared by two methods. One method is micro emulsion combining with hydrothermal growth. The obtained ZnO nano-whiskers were characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis(TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scan electron microscopy (SEM). The whiskers from micro-emulsin/hydrothermal growth have a size about100-200nm. The other method is metal-organic decomposition. The obtained ZnO nano-whiskers were characterized by transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and the size is about20-40nm.Second, Aluminum-doped ZnO whiskers were synthesized by micro-emulsin/hydrothermal growth. Al-dopping has a great influenceon the morphology of ZnO whiskers.Last, preparation of photovoltaic devices, performance testing and efficiency analysis were studied. Two kinds of ZnO nanotetrapods were used as electron acceptor and. solar cells with MEH-PPV:ZnO and MEH-PPV: ZnO: PCBM structures were fabricated. The performances were compared and detailed analysis was carried out. The future improvements were also discussed.