Processing of fullerene-single wall carbon nanotube complex for bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells

A fullerene-single wall carbon nanotube (C-60-SWCNT) complex is used as a component of the photoactive layer in bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells. This complex synthesized by microwave-assisted reaction takes advantage of the electron accepting feature of C-60 and the high electron transport capability of SWCNTs. In this paper, quantum efficiency enhancement by increasing light absorption and by bringing about appropriate morphological rearrangements via solvent vapor treatment and thermal annealing is presented. The optimum combination of these steps led to an increase in efficiency by as much as 87.5%. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.