The results of measurements on solar cells made from randomly aligned thin films of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) on n-type monocrystalline silicon are presented. The films are made by vacuum filtration from aqueous TritonX-100 suspensions of large diameter arc-discharge SWCNTs. The dependence of the solar cell performance on the thickness of the SWCNT film is shown in detail, as is the variation in performance due to doping of the SWCNT film with SOCl 2.
References
[1]
Brunekreeft, G.; Neuhoff, K.; Newbery, D. Electricity transmission: An overview of the current debate. Util. Policy 2005, 13, 73–93, doi:10.1016/j.jup.2004.12.002.
[2]
Tune, D.D.; Flavel, B.S.; Krupke, R.; Shapter, J.G. Carbon nanotube-silicon solar cells. Adv. Energy Mater. 2012, 2, 1043–1055, doi:10.1002/aenm.201200249.
[3]
Tune, D.D.; Hennrich, F.; Dehm, S.; Klein, M.F.G.; Glaser, K.; Colsmann, A.; Shapter, J.G.; Lemmer, U.; Kappes, M.M.; Krupke, R.; et al. The role of nanotubes in carbon nanotube–silicon solar cells. Adv. Energy Mater. 2013, 3, 1091–1097.
[4]
Levitsky, I.A.; Euler, W.B.; Karachevtsev, V.A. Photophysics of Carbon Nanotubes Interfaced with Organic and Inorganic Materials; Springer International Publishing: Zurich, Switwerland, 2012.
[5]
Tune, D.D.; Blanch, A.J.; Krupke, R.; Flavel, B.S.; Shapter, J.G. The effect of nanotube film metallicity on the performance of carbon nanotube–silicon solar cells. ACS Nano 2013. submitted for publication.
Li, Z.; Kunets, V.P.; Saini, V.; Xu, Y.; Dervishi, E.; Salamo, G.J.; Biris, A.R.; Biris, A.S. Light-harvesting using high density p-type single wall carbon nanotube/n-type silicon heterojunctions. ACS Nano 2009, 3, 1407–1414, doi:10.1021/nn900197h.
[9]
Jia, Y.; Li, P.; Wei, J.; Cao, A.; Wang, K.; Li, C.; Zhuang, D.; Zhu, H.; Wu, D. Carbon nanotube films by filtration for nanotube-silicon heterojunction solar cells. Mater. Res. Bull. 2010, 45, 1401–1405, doi:10.1016/j.materresbull.2010.06.045.
[10]
Li, Z.; Jia, Y.; Wei, J.; Wang, K.; Shu, Q.; Gui, X.; Zhu, H.; Cao, A.; Wu, D. Large area, highly transparent carbon nanotube spiderwebs for energy harvesting. J. Mater. Chem. 2010, 20, 7236–7240, doi:10.1039/c0jm01361g.
[11]
Del Gobbo, S.; Castrucci, P.; Scarselli, M.; Camilli, L.; De Crescenzi, M.; Mariucci, L.; Valletta, A.; Minotti, A.; Fortunato, G. Carbon nanotube semitransparent electrodes for amorphous silicon based photovoltaic devices. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2011, 98, 183113:1–183113:3.
[12]
Kozawa, D.; Hiraoka, K.; Miyauchi, Y.; Mouri, S.; Matsuda, K. Analysis of the photovoltaic properties of single-walled carbon nanotube/silicon heterojunction solar cells. Appl. Phys. Express 2012, 5, 042304:1–042304:3.
[13]
Zhao, Y.; Yang, L.; Chen, S.; Wang, X.; Ma, Y.; Wu, Q.; Jiang, Y.; Qian, W.; Hu, Z. Can boron and nitrogen co-doping improve oxygen reduction reaction activity of carbon nanotubes? J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 1201–1204, doi:10.1021/ja310566z.
Castrucci, P.; Del Gobbo, S.; Camilli, L.; Scarselli, M.; Casciardi, S.; Tombolini, F.; Convertino, A.; Fortunato, G.; De Crescenzi, M. Photovoltaic response of carbon nanotube-silicon heterojunctions: Effect of nanotube film thickness and number of walls. J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 2011, 11, 9202–9207, doi:10.1166/jnn.2011.4284.
[17]
Wadhwa, P.; Liu, B.; McCarthy, M.A.; Wu, Z.; Rinzler, A.G. Electronic junction control in a nanotube-semiconductor Schottky junction solar cell. Nano Lett. 2010, 10, 5001–5005, doi:10.1021/nl103128a.
Jia, Y.; Cao, A.; Bai, X.; Li, Z.; Zhang, L.; Guo, N.; Wei, J.; Wang, K.; Zhu, H.; Wu, D.; et al. Achieving high efficiency silicon-carbon nanotube heterojunction solar cells by acid doping. Nano Lett. 2011, 11, 1901–1905, doi:10.1021/nl2002632.
[20]
Jung, Y.; Li, X.; Rajan, N.K.; Taylor, A.D.; Reed, M.A. Record high efficiency single-walled carbon nanotube/silicon p-n junction solar cells. Nano Lett. 2012, 13, 95–99.
[21]
Jia, Y.; Li, P.; Gui, X.; Wei, J.; Wang, K.; Zhu, H.; Wu, D.; Zhang, L.; Cao, A.; Xu, Y. Encapsulated carbon nanotube-oxide-silicon solar cells with stable 10% efficiency. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2011, 98, 133115:1–133115:3.
[22]
Schriver, M.; Regan, W.; Loster, M.; Zettl, A. Carbon nanostructure–Asi:H photovoltaic cells with high open-circuit voltage fabricated without dopants. Solid State Commun. 2010, 150, 561–563, doi:10.1016/j.ssc.2010.01.013.
[23]
Li, X.; Jia, Y.; Wei, J.; Zhu, H.; Wang, K.; Wu, D.; Cao, A. Solar cells and light sensors based on nanoparticle-grafted carbon nanotube films. ACS Nano 2010, 4, 2142–2148, doi:10.1021/nn901563y.
[24]
Li, P.; Wang, S.; Jia, Y.; Li, Z.; Ji, C.; Zhang, L.; Li, H.; Shi, E.; Bian, Z.; Huang, C.; et al. CuI–Si heterojunction solar cells with carbon nanotube films as flexible top-contact electrodes. Nano Res. 2011, 4, 979–986, doi:10.1007/s12274-011-0154-5.
[25]
Golap Kalita, G.; Adhikari, S.; Aryal, H.R.; Afre, R.; Soga, T.; Sharon, M.; Koichi, W.; Umeno, M. Silicon nanowire array/polymer hybrid solar cell incorporating carbon nanotubes. J. Phys. D 2009, 42, 115104:1–115104:11.
[26]
Shu, Q.; Wei, J.; Wang, K.; Song, S.; Guo, N.; Jia, Y.; Li, Z.; Xu, Y.; Cao, A.; Zhu, H.; et al. Efficient energy conversion of nanotube/nanowire-based solar cells. Chem. Commun. 2010, 46, 5533–5535, doi:10.1039/c0cc00512f.
[27]
Shu, Q.; Wei, J.; Wang, K.; Zhu, H.; Li, Z.; Jia, Y.; Gui, X.; Guo, N.; Li, X.; Ma, C.; et al. Hybrid heterojunction and photoelectrochemistry solar cell based on silicon nanowires and double-walled carbon nanotubes. Nano Lett. 2009, 9, 4338–4342, doi:10.1021/nl902581k.
[28]
Zhang, Y.F.; Wang, Y.F.; Chen, N.; Wang, Y.Y.; Zhang, Y.Z.; Zhou, Z.H.; Wei, L.M. Photovoltaic enhancement of Si solar cells by assembled carbon nanotubes. Nano-Micro Lett. 2010, 2, 22–25.
[29]
Li, C.; Li, Z.; Zhu, H.; Wang, K.; Wei, J.; Li, X.; Sun, P.; Zhang, H.; Wu, D. Graphene nano-“patches” on a carbon nanotube network for highly transparent/conductive thin film applications. J. Phys. Chem. C 2010, 114, 14008–14012, doi:10.1021/jp1041487.
[30]
Fan, G.; Fan, L.; Li, Z.; Bai, X.; Mulligan, S.; Jia, Y.; Wang, K.; Wei, J.; Cao, A.; Wu, D.; et al. Hybrid effect of gas flow and light excitation in carbon/silicon Schottky solar cells. J. Mater. Chem. 2012, 22, 3330–3334, doi:10.1039/c2jm15938d.
[31]
Li, X.; Jung, Y.; Sakimoto, K.; Goh, T.-H.; Reed, M.A.; Taylor, A.D. Improved efficiency of smooth and aligned single walled carbon nanotube/silicon hybrid solar cells. Energy Environ. Sci. 2013, 6, 879–887, doi:10.1039/c2ee23716d.
[32]
Shi, E.; Zhang, L.; Li, Z.; Li, P.; Shang, Y.; Jia, Y.; Wei, J.; Wang, K.; Zhu, H.; Wu, D.; et al. TiO2-coated carbon nanotube-silicon solar cells with efficiency of 15%. Sci. Rep. 2012, 2, doi:10.1038/srep00884.
[33]
Ryabenko, A.G.; Dorofeeva, T.V.; Zvereva, G.I. UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy study of sensitivity of single-wall carbon nanotubes to chemical processing and van-Der-Waals SWNT/SWNT interaction. Verification of the SWNT content measurements by absorption spectroscopy. Carbon 2004, 42, 1523–1535, doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2004.02.005.
[34]
O’Connell, M.J.; Eibergen, E.E.; Doorn, S.K. Chiral selectivity in the charge-transfer bleaching of single-walled carbon-nanotube spectra. Nat. Mater. 2005, 4, 412–418, doi:10.1038/nmat1367.
[35]
Dettlaff-Weglikowska, U.; Skákalová, V.; Graupner, R.; Jhang, S.H.; Kim, B.H.; Lee, H.J.; Ley, L.; Park, Y.W.; Berber, S.; Tománek, D.; et al. Effect of SOCl2 treatment on electrical and mechanical properties of single-wall carbon nanotube networks. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 5125–5131, doi:10.1021/ja046685a.
[36]
Beer, A. Determination of the absorption of red light in colored liquids. Annal. Phys. Chem. 1852, 86, 78–88, doi:10.1002/andp.18521620505.
[37]
Hu, L.; Hecht, D.S.; Grüner, G. Percolation in transparent and conducting carbon nanotube networks. NanoLett. 2004, 4, 2513–2517, doi:10.1021/nl048435y.
[38]
Pike, G.E.; Seager, C.H. Percolation and conductivity: A computer study. Phys. Rev. B 1974, 10, 1421–1434, doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.10.1421.
[39]
Yi, Y.B.; Sastry, A.M. Analytical approximation of the two-dimensional percolation threshold for fields of overlapping ellipses. Phys. Rev. E 2002, 66, 066130:1–066130:8.
[40]
Nirmalraj, P.N.; Lyons, P.E.; De, S.; Coleman, J.N.; Boland, J.J. Electrical connectivity in single-walled carbon nanotube networks. Nano Lett. 2009, 9, 3890–3895, doi:10.1021/nl9020914.
[41]
Parekh, B.B.; Fanchini, G.; Eda, G.; Chhowalla, M. Improved conductivity of transparent single-wall carbon nanotube thin films via stable postdeposition functionalization. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2007, 90, 121913:1–121913:3.
[42]
Geng, H.-Z.; Kim, K.K.; So, K.P.; Lee, Y.S.; Chang, Y.; Lee, Y.H. Effect of acid treatment on carbon nanotube-based flexible transparent conducting films. J. Am Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 7758–7759, doi:10.1021/ja0722224.
[43]
Blackburn, J.L.; Barnes, T.M.; Beard, M.C.; Kim, Y.-H.; Tenent, R.C.; McDonald, T.J.; To, B.; Coutts, T.J.; Heben, M.J. Transparent conductive single-walled carbon nanotube networks with precisely tunable ratios of semiconducting and metallic nanotubes. ACS Nano 2008, 2, 1266–1274, doi:10.1021/nn800200d.
[44]
Barnes, T.M.; Blackburn, J.L.; van de Lagemaat, J.; Coutts, T.J.; Heben, M.J. Reversibility, dopant desorption, and tunneling in the temperature-dependent conductivity of type-separated, conductive carbon nanotube networks. ACS Nano 2008, 2, 1968–1976, doi:10.1021/nn800194u.
[45]
Tantang, H.; Ong, J.Y.; Loh, C.L.; Dong, X.; Chen, P.; Chen, Y.; Hu, X.; Tan, L.P.; Li, L.-J. Using oxidation to increase the electrical conductivity of carbon nanotube electrodes. Carbon 2009, 47, 1867–1870, doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2009.03.005.
[46]
Kim, D.H.; Lee, J.K.; Huh, J.H.; Kim, Y.H.; Kim, G.T.; Roth, S.; Dettlaff-Weglikowska, U. Effect Of SOCl2 doping on electronic properties of single-walled carbon nanotube thin film transistors. Phys. Status Solidi B 2011, 248, 2668–2671, doi:10.1002/pssb.201100106.
[47]
Znidarsic, A.; Kaskela, A.; Laiho, P.; Gaberscek, M.; Ohno, Y.; Nasibulin, A.G.; Kauppinen, E.I.; Hassanien, A. Spatially resolved transport properties of pristine and doped single-walled carbon nanotube networks. J. Phys. Chem. C 2013, 117, 13324–13330, doi:10.1021/jp403983y.
[48]
Zhang, Z.-B.; Li, J.; Cabezas, A.L.; Zhang, S.-L. Characterization of acid-treated carbon nanotube thin films by means of raman spectroscopy and field-effect response. Chem. Phys. Lett. 2009, 476, 258–261, doi:10.1016/j.cplett.2009.06.041.
[49]
Jia, Y.; Cao, A.; Kang, F.; Li, P.; Gui, X.; Zhang, L.; Shi, E.; Wei, J.; Wang, K.; Zhu, H.; et al. Strong and reversible modulation of carbon nanotube-silicon heterojunction solar cells by an interfacial oxide layer. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2012, 14, 8391–8396, doi:10.1039/c2cp23639g.
[50]
Saha, A.; Ghosh, S.; Weisman, R.B.; Martí, A.A. Films of bare single-walled carbon nanotubes from superacids with tailored electronic and photoluminescence properties. ACS Nano 2012, 6, 5727–5734, doi:10.1021/nn302092b.
[51]
Cheung, S.K.; Cheung, N.W. Extraction of Schottky diode parameters from forward current-voltage characteristics. Appl. Phys. Lett. 1986, 49, 85–87, doi:10.1063/1.97359.
[52]
Sze, S.M.; Ng, K.K. Physics of Semiconductor Devices; Wiley Interscience: Hoboken, New Jeresy, NJ, USA, 2006.
