Analysis and modification of defective surface aggregates on PCDTBT:PCBM solar cell blends using combined Kelvin probe, conductive and bimodal atomic force microscopy

• Hanaul Noh,
• Alfredo J. Diaz and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 579–589, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.62

• derivatives are attractive for inexpensive energy harvesting. Extensive research on polymer solar cells has provided insight into the factors governing device-level efficiency and stability. However, the detailed investigation of nanoscale structures is still challenging. Here we demonstrate the analysis and

• force microscopy; multifrequency AFM; organic photovoltaics; polymer solar cells; surface defects; Introduction Polymer solar cells (PSCs) [1] have been widely studied due to the abundance of their constituents, their mechanical flexibility and light weight, as well as the possibility of low-cost roll

• aggregates and modification of their structures on PCDTBT-based polymer solar cells using combined Kelvin probe (KPFM), conductive (C-AFM) and bimodal atomic force microscopy (AFM). Topography changes for partly removed aggregates show that the aggregates are composed of molecular thin layers of about 0.8 nm

Impact of air exposure and annealing on the chemical and electronic properties of the surface of SnO₂ nanolayers deposited by rheotaxial growth and vacuum oxidation

• Monika Kwoka and
• Maciej Krzywiecki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 514–521, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.55

• -oxide electronics; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS); Introduction For many years, tin dioxide (SnO2) has been widely used as the active material for resistive-type gas sensors for oxidizing and reducing gases [1], thin transparent electrodes and barrier layers in solar cells [2]. This is related

Study of the surface properties of ZnO nanocolumns used for thin-film solar cells

• Neda Neykova,
• Jiri Stuchlik,
• Karel Hruska,
• Ales Poruba,
• Zdenek Remes and
• Ognen Pop-Georgievski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 446–451, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.48

• development of thin film solar cells based on ZnO NCs. Keywords: 3-dimensional solar cells; hydrothermal growth; optical spectroscopy; photothermal deflection spectroscopy; plasma treatment; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; ZnO nanocolumns; Introduction The widely accepted design of thin-film silicon (TF

• -Si) solar cells, used for mass production, is composed of a transparent conductive oxide with roughness at the nanoscale on the front (TCO), e.g., tin oxide (SnO2) or zinc oxide (ZnO), followed by p–i–n Si layers (amorphous and/or nanocrystalline) in the cell and a back reflector [1][2]. In such a

• , the highest performances are expected for solar cells having a sufficiently large “optical thickness” and a sufficiently short distance between the electrodes, the “electrical thickness”. In common planar TF-Si solar cells, it is impossible to simultaneously fulfil these two conditions. Recently

Role of oxygen in wetting of copper nanoparticles on silicon surfaces at elevated temperature

• Tapas Ghosh and
• Biswarup Satpati

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 425–433, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.45

• various metal as well as semiconductor surfaces [14][15][16][17][18][19]. Different nanostructures have been fabricated using the galvanic displacement reaction which leads to many practical applications [20][21][22]. CuO has important applications in solar cells. With a suitable band gap, CuO has a

• higher theoretical photocurrent density [23]. The practical conversion efficiency for CuO is low, which may be due to its low carrier concentration [24]. Again, the p-type CuO–n-type Si heterojunction is applicable for solar cells due to their similar electron affinity [25]. The reported open circuit

• formation by the thermal oxidation of Cu nanoparticles on the silicon surface leads to the wetting. Such wetting implies a strong interaction between the CuO and the SiO2/Si surfaces. This study may be useful to understand and improve the efficiency of p-CuO/n-Si heterojunction solar cells. Plan view (a

In-situ monitoring by Raman spectroscopy of the thermal doping of graphene and MoS₂ in O₂-controlled atmosphere

• Aurora Piazza,
• Filippo Giannazzo,
• Gianpiero Buscarino,
• Gabriele Fisichella,
• Antonino La Magna,
• Fabrizio Roccaforte,
• Marco Cannas,
• Franco Mario Gelardi and
• Simonpietro Agnello

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 418–424, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.44

• application such as thin flexible circuits and interconnecting transparent conductive electrodes for solar cells and/or touch screens [6]. Among the possible dopants for Gr, an easily accessible and promising one is oxygen. It acts as a p-type dopant and can also be activated by thermal treatments [13][14

Functionalized TiO₂ nanoparticles by single-step hydrothermal synthesis: the role of the silane coupling agents

• Antoine R. M. Dalod,
• Lars Henriksen,
• Tor Grande and
• Mari-Ann Einarsrud

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 304–312, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.33

• Because of the high surface-to-volume ratio, the intrinsic properties of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles have led to exploitation in many fields such as in photocatalysis [1], solar cells [2], and in biomedical applications [3]. The naturally occurring phases of TiO2 are rutile (thermodynamically

Performance of natural-dye-sensitized solar cells by ZnO nanorod and nanowall enhanced photoelectrodes

• Saif Saadaoui,
• Mohamed Aziz Ben Youssef,
• Moufida Ben Karoui,
• Rached Gharbi,
• Emanuele Smecca,
• Vincenzina Strano,
• Salvo Mirabella,
• Alessandra Alberti and
• Rosaria A. Puglisi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 287–295, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.31

• promising green industry for the future power demand. Among these technological resources, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have shown good performance since their first demonstration by O'Regan and Grätzel in 1991 [2]. Figure 1a shows the standard structure of DSSC: The first part of this structure

• -circuit current density (Jsc) and fill factor (FF), are the most significant parameters used to evaluate the enhancement of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of solar cells [10]. The short circuit current density, Jsc, depends essentially on dye adsorption, the collection efficiency in the

• Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania, via S. Sofia 64, Catania, Italy 10.3762/bjnano.8.31 Abstract In this work, two natural dyes extracted from henna and mallow plants with a maximum absorbance at 665 nm were studied and used as sensitizers in the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar

Photocatalysis applications of some hybrid polymeric composites incorporating TiO₂ nanoparticles and their combinations with SiO₂/Fe₂O₃

• Andreea Laura Chibac,
• Tinca Buruiana,
• Violeta Melinte and
• Emil C. Buruiana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 272–286, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.30

• nanocatalysts. Keywords: hybrid polymer composites; maghemite nanoparticles; photocatalysis; TiO2 nanoparticles; UV–visible irradiation; Introduction Over the last years, titania nanomaterials have attracted a lot of attention as they have found numerous applications in the field of dye-sensitized solar cells

Performance of colloidal CdS sensitized solar cells with ZnO nanorods/nanoparticles

• Anurag Roy,
• Partha Pratim Das,
• Mukta Tathavadekar,
• Sumita Das and
• Parukuttyamma Sujatha Devi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 210–221, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.23

• Division, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune 411 008, India 10.3762/bjnano.8.23 Abstract As an alternative photosensitizer in dye-sensitized solar cells, bovine serum albumin (BSA) (a nonhazardous protein) was used in the synthesis of colloidal CdS nanoparticles (NPs). This system has been employed

• to replace the commonly used N719 dye molecule. Various nanostructured forms of ZnO, namely, nanorod and nanoparticle-based photoanodes, have been sensitized with colloidal CdS NPs to evaluate their effective performance towards quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). A polysulphide (Sx2−)-based

• voltage (VOC) of 0.67 V was achieved for the ZnO nanorod/nanoparticle assembled structure. The introduction of ZnO nanorods over the nanoparticle led to a significant enhancement of the overall efficiency compared to the corresponding bare nanoparticles. Keywords: DSSC; QDSSC; quantum dot; solar cells

Laser irradiation in water for the novel, scalable synthesis of black TiO_x photocatalyst for environmental remediation

• Massimo Zimbone,
• Giuseppe Cacciato,
• Mohamed Boutinguiza,
• Vittorio Privitera and
• Maria Grazia Grimaldi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 196–202, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.21

• widely used for both water splitting and mineralization of organic contaminants in solution [2]. The applications range from third generation solar cells [3] to material for air or water purification [4] to antifogging and self-cleaning surfaces [5][6]. The main advantage of this material is its high

Tandem polymer solar cells: simulation and optimization through a multiscale scheme

• Fanan Wei,
• Ligang Yao,
• Fei Lan,
• Guangyong Li and
• Lianqing Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 123–133, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.13

• Automation, CAS, Shenyang, China, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 10.3762/bjnano.8.13 Abstract In this paper, polymer solar cells with a tandem structure were investigated and optimized using a multiscale simulation scheme. In the proposed multiscale simulation, multiple aspects

• , donor/acceptor weight ratio as well as the donor–acceptor distribution in both active layers of the two sub-cells. Finally, employing searching algorithms, we optimized the power conversion efficiency of the tandem polymer solar cells and located the optimal device structure parameters. With the

• proposed multiscale simulation strategy, poly(3-hexylthiophene)/phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester and (poly[2,6-(4,4-bis-(2-ethylhexyl)-4H-cyclopenta[2,1-b;3,4-b]dithiophene)-alt-4,7-(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)])/phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester based tandem solar cells were simulated and optimized as

Ordering of Zn-centered porphyrin and phthalocyanine on TiO₂(011): STM studies

• Piotr Olszowski,
• Lukasz Zajac,
• Szymon Godlewski,
• Bartosz Such,
• Rémy Pawlak,
• Antoine Hinaut,
• Res Jöhr,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Ernst Meyer and
• Marek Szymonski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 99–107, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.11

• conditions. Keywords: dye-sensitized solar cells; molecular nanostructures; phthalocyanines; porphyrins; rutile surfaces; STM imaging; Introduction There is an increasing interest in optoelectronic applications of organic molecular heterostructures which utilize inorganic substrates, such as titanium

• oxides. Recently various devices, such as light-emitting diodes [1], organic field effect transistors [2], and dye-sensitized solar cells [3], have been developed and commercialized. It is apparent that in almost all areas of utilization, the electronic properties of complex structures play a crucial

• device functionality. It was reported that a mixture of porphyrins and phthalocyanine has a profound impact on the photovoltaic parameters of dye-sensitized solar cells [9][10]. Therefore, the microscopic investigation on such systems is crucial. One of the most popular nonmetal substrates used for

Diffusion of dilute gas in arrays of randomly distributed, vertically aligned, high-aspect-ratio cylinders

• Wojciech Szmyt,
• Carlos Guerra and
• Ivo Utke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 64–73, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.7

• nanocylinder arrays in solar cells and energy storage applications. Furthermore, gas sensing devices with high-aspect-ratio nanocylinder arrays and the growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes need the fundamental understanding and precise modelling of gas transport to optimise such processes. Keywords

Prediction of the mechanical properties of zeolite pellets for aerospace molecular decontamination applications

• Guillaume Rioland,
• Patrick Dutournié,
• Delphine Faye,
• T. Jean Daou and
• Joël Patarin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1761–1771, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.169

• decontamination; operating optimums; zeolite pellets; Introduction Molecular contamination is of great concern in aerospace-based applications. Once satellites are in orbit, molecules contained in paints, adhesives or glues can outgas and form films or droplets on the surface of mirrors, lenses, solar cells or

Numerical investigation of depth profiling capabilities of helium and neon ions in ion microscopy

• Patrick Philipp,
• Lukasz Rzeznik and
• Tom Wirtz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1749–1760, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.168

• include mixed organic–inorganic systems for organic solar cells or LEDs. A study on such systems is forthcoming. Numerical methods Simulations on sputtering were carried out using the SD_TRIM_SP code [26] which is based on the simulation codes TRIM [36][37] and TRIDYN [38][39]. In addition to previous

Nanostructured TiO₂-based gas sensors with enhanced sensitivity to reducing gases

• Wojciech Maziarz,
• Anna Kusior and
• Anita Trenczek-Zajac

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1718–1726, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.164

• to display better gas selectivity and sensitivity [1][2]. Additionally, open nanostructures facilitate the penetration of gas, and as a consequence, reduces the response time. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is effectively used in environmental and energy production applications such as dye-sensitized solar

• cells, photocatalytic water purification, and hydrogen generation by water splitting [3][4][5]. In sensor technology this n-type semiconductor is frequently considered as a promising material for gas detection applications [6]. It has excellent sensitivity and selectivity for many different gases such

Sb₂S₃ grown by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis and its application in a hybrid solar cell

• Erki Kärber,
• Atanas Katerski,
• Ilona Oja Acik,
• Arvo Mere,
• Valdek Mikli and
• Malle Krunks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1662–1673, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.158

• if an abundance of sulfur source is present in the precursor solution (SbCl3/SC(NH2)2 = 1:6) sprayed onto the substrate at 250 °C in air. Solar cells with glass-ITO-TiO2-Sb2S3-P3HT-Au structure and an active area of 1 cm2 had an open circuit voltage of 630 mV, short circuit current density of 5 mA

• /cm2, a fill factor of 42% and a conversion efficiency of 1.3%. Conversion efficiencies up to 1.9% were obtained from solar cells with smaller areas. Keywords: absorber; chemical spray pyrolysis (CSP); hybrid solar cell; stibnite (Sb2S3); ultrasonic atomization; Introduction A solution-based

• technology coupled with earth abundant materials is an attractive path for affordable next-generation solar cells. The present paper relies on the recently proven concept of TiO2/Sb2S3/P3HT solar cells [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12], in which Sb2S3 is the light absorber, also called the sensitizer

Scanning probe microscopy studies on the adsorption of selected molecular dyes on titania

• Jakub S. Prauzner-Bechcicki,
• Lukasz Zajac,
• Piotr Olszowski,
• Res Jöhr,
• Antoine Hinaut,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Bartosz Such,
• Ernst Meyer and
• Marek Szymonski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1642–1653, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.156

• . Needless to say, there are many wide-band-gap materials that are studied in the context of photovoltaic applications. However, among them, titanium dioxide seems to be favoured. Indeed, since O’Regan and Grätzel published their seminal paper [2], the interest surrounding dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC

The effect of dry shear aligning of nanotube thin films on the photovoltaic performance of carbon nanotube–silicon solar cells

• Benedikt W. Stolz,
• Daniel D. Tune and
• Benjamin S. Flavel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1486–1491, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.141

• South Australia, Adelaide 5042, Australia 10.3762/bjnano.7.141 Abstract Recent results in the field of carbon nanotube–silicon solar cells have suggested that the best performance is obtained when the nanotube film provides good coverage of the silicon surface and when the nanotubes in the film are

• direction of shear. It is thus reasonable to expect that nanotube films subjected to dry shear aligning should outperform otherwise identical films formed by other processes. In this work, the fabrication and characterisation of carbon nanotube–silicon solar cells using such films is reported, and the

• photovoltaic performance of devices produced with and without dry shear aligning is compared. Keywords: absorbance; carbon nanotubes; current-voltage; dry shear aligning; order parameter; Introduction During the last decade or so, the potential benefits of using carbon nanotubes in solar cells has been

Fabrication and characterization of branched carbon nanostructures

• Sharali Malik,
• Yoshihiro Nemoto,
• Hongxuan Guo,
• Katsuhiko Ariga and
• Jonathan P. Hill

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1260–1266, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.116

• be also potential usage for energy conversion, e.g., in supercapacitors, solar cells and Li-ion batteries. However, the limited availability of b-MWCNTs has, to date, restricted their use in such technological applications. Herein, we report an inexpensive and simple method to fabricate large amounts

• design, development and production of supercapacitors, solar cells and Li-ion batteries. The first experimental observation of branched carbon nanotubes appears to have been in 1995, when after using an arc-discharge method L-, Y- and T-shaped MWCNTs were produced [18]. Subsequently, branched CNTs have

Photocurrent generation in carbon nanotube/cubic-phase HfO₂ nanoparticle hybrid nanocomposites

• Protima Rauwel,
• Augustinas Galeckas,
• Martin Salumaa,
• Frédérique Ducroquet and
• Erwan Rauwel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1075–1085, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.101

• combination of nanoparticles with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has proven to greatly broaden the area of potential applications, such as gas sensors [1][2], solar cells [3][4], bioimaging [5] and IR detectors [6], most of which require efficient charge transfer from the nanoparticle to the CNT and charge

The influence of phthalocyanine aggregation in complexes with CdSe/ZnS quantum dots on the photophysical properties of the complexes

• Irina V. Martynenko,
• Anna O. Orlova,
• Vladimir G. Maslov,
• Anatoly V. Fedorov,
• Kevin Berwick and
• Alexander V. Baranov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1018–1027, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.94

• tetrapyrrole molecules were of great interest due to their diverse application in many fields ranging from latest third generation solar cells [1][2][3] to photodynamic therapy (PDT) [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Currently, practically all PDT drugs are based on tetrapyrrole molecules. In the PDT process

High-resolution noncontact AFM and Kelvin probe force microscopy investigations of self-assembled photovoltaic donor–acceptor dyads

• Benjamin Grévin,
• Pierre-Olivier Schwartz,
• Laure Biniek,
• Martin Brinkmann,
• Nicolas Leclerc,
• Elena Zaborova and
• Stéphane Méry

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 799–808, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.71

• power conversion efficiency records of over 10% [1][2], solution-processed organic solar cells are regarded as a promising alternative to conventional silicon-based photovoltaic devices. Bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells rely on blends of electron-donor (D) and electron-acceptor (A

• –acceptor solar cells, the SPV measures the splitting of the quasi-Fermi levels of the holes and electrons under illumination across the donor–acceptor interface [8]. In operating devices, the quasi-Fermi levels of the holes and electrons are nearly aligned with the Fermi levels of the anode and cathode

Microwave solvothermal synthesis and characterization of manganese-doped ZnO nanoparticles

• Jacek Wojnarowicz,
• Roman Mukhovskyi,
• Elzbieta Pietrzykowska,
• Sylwia Kusnieruk,
• Jan Mizeracki and
• Witold Lojkowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 721–732, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.64

• oxides semiconductors. Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a II–VI semiconductor characterised by a wide band gap of 3.3 eV and a high exciton binding energy of circa 60 meV [4]. ZnO is used in optoelectronic devices, solar cells, data carriers, light emitting diodes (LEDs), gas sensors, thermoelectric devices

Case studies on the formation of chalcogenide self-assembled monolayers on surfaces and dissociative processes

• Yongfeng Tong,
• Tingming Jiang,
• Azzedine Bendounan,
• Makri Nimbegondi Kotresh Harish,
• Angelo Giglia,
• Stefan Kubsky,
• Fausto Sirotti,
• Luca Pasquali,
• Srinivasan Sampath and
• Vladimir A. Esaulov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 263–277, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.24

• versatility, intrinsic charge transport behavior with high carrier mobility, and high light harvesting efficiency. Their use includes application in field effect transistors, solar cells and light emitting diodes. A number of studies have been devoted to the assembly of these molecules on metallic electrodes