A scanning probe microscopy study of nanostructured TiO2/poly(3-hexylthiophene) hybrid heterojunctions for photovoltaic applications
The nanoscale morphology of photoactive hybrid heterojunctions plays a key role in the performances of hybrid solar cells. In this work, the heterojunctions consist of a nanocolumnar TiO2 surface covalently grafted with a monolayer of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) functionalized with carboxylic grou...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Beilstein-Institut
2018-08-01
|
| Series: | Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.9.197 |
| _version_ | 1818821647532032000 |
|---|---|
| author | Laurie Letertre Roland Roche Olivier Douhéret Hailu G. Kassa Denis Mariolle Nicolas Chevalier Łukasz Borowik Philippe Dumas Benjamin Grévin Roberto Lazzaroni Philippe Leclère |
| author_facet | Laurie Letertre Roland Roche Olivier Douhéret Hailu G. Kassa Denis Mariolle Nicolas Chevalier Łukasz Borowik Philippe Dumas Benjamin Grévin Roberto Lazzaroni Philippe Leclère |
| author_sort | Laurie Letertre |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The nanoscale morphology of photoactive hybrid heterojunctions plays a key role in the performances of hybrid solar cells. In this work, the heterojunctions consist of a nanocolumnar TiO2 surface covalently grafted with a monolayer of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) functionalized with carboxylic groups (–COOH). Through a joint analysis of the photovoltaic properties at the nanoscale by photoconductive-AFM (PC-AFM) and surface photovoltage imaging, we investigated the physical mechanisms taking place locally during the photovoltaic process and the correlation to the nanoscale morphology. A down-shift of the vacuum level of the TiO2 surface upon grafting was measured by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), evidencing the formation of a dipole at the TiO2/P3HT-COOH interface. Upon in situ illumination, a positive photovoltage was observed as a result of the accumulation of photogenerated holes in the P3HT layer. A positive photocurrent was recorded in PC-AFM measurements, whose spatial mapping was interpreted consistently with the corresponding KPFM analysis, offering a correlated analysis of interest from both a theoretical and material design perspective. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T23:11:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-acd09d5267524d3db8ad112aad7dc7f6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2190-4286 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T23:11:31Z |
| publishDate | 2018-08-01 |
| publisher | Beilstein-Institut |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology |
| spelling | doaj.art-acd09d5267524d3db8ad112aad7dc7f62022-12-21T20:48:19ZengBeilstein-InstitutBeilstein Journal of Nanotechnology2190-42862018-08-01912087209610.3762/bjnano.9.1972190-4286-9-197A scanning probe microscopy study of nanostructured TiO2/poly(3-hexylthiophene) hybrid heterojunctions for photovoltaic applicationsLaurie Letertre0Roland Roche1Olivier Douhéret2Hailu G. Kassa3Denis Mariolle4Nicolas Chevalier5Łukasz Borowik6Philippe Dumas7Benjamin Grévin8Roberto Lazzaroni9Philippe Leclère10Laboratory for Chemistry of Novel Materials - Center for Innovation and Research in Materials and Polymers - CIRMAP, University of Mons, Mons, BelgiumAix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Nanoscience de Marseille (CiNaM), Marseille, FranceMateria-Nova R&D Center, Mons, BelgiumLaboratory for Chemistry of Novel Materials - Center for Innovation and Research in Materials and Polymers - CIRMAP, University of Mons, Mons, BelgiumUniversitè Grenoble Alpes, F-38000 Grenoble, FranceUniversitè Grenoble Alpes, F-38000 Grenoble, FranceUniversitè Grenoble Alpes, F-38000 Grenoble, FranceAix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Nanoscience de Marseille (CiNaM), Marseille, FranceUniversitè Grenoble Alpes, F-38000 Grenoble, FranceLaboratory for Chemistry of Novel Materials - Center for Innovation and Research in Materials and Polymers - CIRMAP, University of Mons, Mons, BelgiumLaboratory for Chemistry of Novel Materials - Center for Innovation and Research in Materials and Polymers - CIRMAP, University of Mons, Mons, BelgiumThe nanoscale morphology of photoactive hybrid heterojunctions plays a key role in the performances of hybrid solar cells. In this work, the heterojunctions consist of a nanocolumnar TiO2 surface covalently grafted with a monolayer of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) functionalized with carboxylic groups (–COOH). Through a joint analysis of the photovoltaic properties at the nanoscale by photoconductive-AFM (PC-AFM) and surface photovoltage imaging, we investigated the physical mechanisms taking place locally during the photovoltaic process and the correlation to the nanoscale morphology. A down-shift of the vacuum level of the TiO2 surface upon grafting was measured by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), evidencing the formation of a dipole at the TiO2/P3HT-COOH interface. Upon in situ illumination, a positive photovoltage was observed as a result of the accumulation of photogenerated holes in the P3HT layer. A positive photocurrent was recorded in PC-AFM measurements, whose spatial mapping was interpreted consistently with the corresponding KPFM analysis, offering a correlated analysis of interest from both a theoretical and material design perspective.https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.9.197hybrid heterojunctionshybrid photovoltaicKelvin probe force microscopyphotoconductive-AFMphoto-KPFMpoly(3-hexylthiophene)TiO2 |
| spellingShingle | Laurie Letertre Roland Roche Olivier Douhéret Hailu G. Kassa Denis Mariolle Nicolas Chevalier Łukasz Borowik Philippe Dumas Benjamin Grévin Roberto Lazzaroni Philippe Leclère A scanning probe microscopy study of nanostructured TiO2/poly(3-hexylthiophene) hybrid heterojunctions for photovoltaic applications Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology hybrid heterojunctions hybrid photovoltaic Kelvin probe force microscopy photoconductive-AFM photo-KPFM poly(3-hexylthiophene) TiO2 |
| title | A scanning probe microscopy study of nanostructured TiO2/poly(3-hexylthiophene) hybrid heterojunctions for photovoltaic applications |
| title_full | A scanning probe microscopy study of nanostructured TiO2/poly(3-hexylthiophene) hybrid heterojunctions for photovoltaic applications |
| title_fullStr | A scanning probe microscopy study of nanostructured TiO2/poly(3-hexylthiophene) hybrid heterojunctions for photovoltaic applications |
| title_full_unstemmed | A scanning probe microscopy study of nanostructured TiO2/poly(3-hexylthiophene) hybrid heterojunctions for photovoltaic applications |
| title_short | A scanning probe microscopy study of nanostructured TiO2/poly(3-hexylthiophene) hybrid heterojunctions for photovoltaic applications |
| title_sort | scanning probe microscopy study of nanostructured tio2 poly 3 hexylthiophene hybrid heterojunctions for photovoltaic applications |
| topic | hybrid heterojunctions hybrid photovoltaic Kelvin probe force microscopy photoconductive-AFM photo-KPFM poly(3-hexylthiophene) TiO2 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.9.197 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT laurieletertre ascanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT rolandroche ascanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT olivierdouheret ascanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT hailugkassa ascanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT denismariolle ascanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT nicolaschevalier ascanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT łukaszborowik ascanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT philippedumas ascanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT benjamingrevin ascanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT robertolazzaroni ascanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT philippeleclere ascanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT laurieletertre scanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT rolandroche scanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT olivierdouheret scanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT hailugkassa scanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT denismariolle scanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT nicolaschevalier scanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT łukaszborowik scanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT philippedumas scanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT benjamingrevin scanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT robertolazzaroni scanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications AT philippeleclere scanningprobemicroscopystudyofnanostructuredtio2poly3hexylthiophenehybridheterojunctionsforphotovoltaicapplications |