A C70-carbon nanotube complex for bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells

A C70 fullerene-multi-walled carbon nanotube (C70-CNT) complex has been used as a component of the photoactive layer in a bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cell. As compared to a control device with only C70, the addition of CNTs led to improvements in short circuit current density (J(sc)), open circuit voltage (V-oc), and power conversion efficiency by 31.8, 17.5, and 69.5%, respectively. This device takes advantage of both the electron accepting feature of C70 and the high electron transport capability of CNTs. These results indicate that C70 decorated CNT is a promising additive for performance enhancement of polymer photovoltaic cells. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.