Effects of Co-Solvents on the Performance of PEDOT:PSS Films and Hybrid Photovoltaic Devices

Hybrid silicon solar cells have been fabricated by the spin coating of conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as a p-type contact on textured n-type crystalline silicon wafers. The effect of adding co-solvents, ethylene glycol (EG) and dimethyl sulphox...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Abhishek Iyer, James Hack, David Alejandro Angel Trujillo, Bo Tew, Joshua Zide, Robert Opila
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2018-10-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/8/11/2052
Description
Summary:Hybrid silicon solar cells have been fabricated by the spin coating of conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as a p-type contact on textured n-type crystalline silicon wafers. The effect of adding co-solvents, ethylene glycol (EG) and dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO), to PEDOT:PSS improves its conductivity which translates to the improved performance of solar cells. Transfer length measurements were conducted to realize optimal contact with minimal losses between the front metal contact (silver) and PEDOT:PSS. From the conductivity and device results, a 7% EG with 0.25 wt% Triton (surfactant) blend of PEDOT:PSS is found to be optimal for these cells. This current approach with a few changes in the device architecture will pave way for the further improvement of PEDOT:PSS based hybrid silicon solar cells.
ISSN:2076-3417