Graphene oxide modified PEDOT:PSS as an efficient hole transport layer for enhanced performance of hybrid silicon solar cells

In recent years, PEDOT:PSS/n-Silicon (n-Si) based hybrid solar cells (HSCs) have drawn a significant attention as promising alternative to the conventional Si solar cell technology. However, poor electrical performance of the PEDOT:PSS limits the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the device. Herein, tailoring the properties of the PEDOT:PSS via graphene oxide (GO) is investigated to use PEDOT:PSS-GO as an efficient hole transport layer (HTL) for the enhanced performance of the PEDOT:PSS/n-Si HSCs. A small amount of GO incorporation resulted in significantly improved structural, electrical, Si surface passivation properties of the PEDOT:PSS and hence the photovoltaic performance of the PEDOT:PSS-GO/n-Si HSCs. The study reveals that the oxygen functional groups on 2D-GO sheets interact with PEDOT:PSS and facilitates the improved electrical conductivity by >2 folds without affecting its optical properties. Further, the effective passivation of n-Si surface by the composite film has been found with enhanced minority carrier lifetime (-1.7 folds). The PEDOT:PSS-GO/n-Si HSCs could achieve the highest PCE of 11.22% on device dimension of 1 cm2, which is absolute-4.14% higher with respect to that with the pristine PEDOT:PSS. The improved performance is attributed to the effective charge transport properties of the PEDOT:PSS-GO, interface passivation and thus efficient separation and collection of the photo-carriers for an optimum GO addition. The study establishes that PEDOT:PSS-GO composite could be used as an effective HTL for the efficient PEDOT:PSS/n-Si HSCs.

Automated summary

The properties of PEDOT:PSS have been improved by incorporating graphene oxide (GO), resulting in a high-efficiency hole transport layer (HTL) for PEDOT:PSS/n-Si hybrid solar cells (HSCs). The addition of a small amount of GO enhances the structural, electrical, and Si surface passivation properties of PEDOT:PSS, leading to improved photovoltaic performance of PEDOT:PSS-GO/n-Si HSCs. The study shows that the oxygen functional groups on the surface of 2D-GO sheets interact with PEDOT:PSS, significantly increasing its electrical conductivity by more than two times without impacting its optical properties. Additionally, the composite film effectively passivates the n-Si surface, resulting in a 1.7-fold increase in minority carrier lifetime. PEDOT:PSS-GO/n-Si HSCs achieved a highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 11.22% on a device dimension of 1 cm2, which is 4.14% higher than that of pristine PEDOT:PSS. This improvement is attributed to the enhanced charge transport properties of PEDOT:PSS-GO, interface passivation, and efficient separation and collection of photo-carriers with optimum GO addition. The study demonstrates that PEDOT:PSS-GO composite can be an effective HTL for efficient PEDOT:PSS/n-Si HSCs.