Record efficiency of air-stable multi-walled carbon nanotube/silicon solar cells

Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) films form efficient heterojunction solar cells with n-type crystalline silicon (n-Si), due to their superior optical and electrical properties. Here, we report air-stable photovoltaic devices with record photoconversion efficiency of 10%. We realized thin films consisting of MWCNTs arranged in semitransparent random networks deposited on n-Si substrates by a simple, rapid, reproducible, and inexpensive vacuum filtration process at room temperature. Such heterojunctions favor high and broadband carrier photogeneration, extending the Si spectral response from near infrared to near ultraviolet range; charge dissociation of ultrafast hot carriers [1]; transport of electrons through n-Si and high-mobility [2] holes through the MWCNT percolative network. Furthermore, by varying the MWCNT film thickness, it is possible tailoring its optical and electrical properties, therefore the overall device optoelectronic features. These results not only pave the way for low-cost, efficient, and broadband photovoltaics, but also are promising for the development of MWCNT-based optoelectronic applications. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.