Optimizing ZnO nanoparticle surface for bulk heterojunction hybrid solar cells

The performance of hybrid solar cells composed of polymer and ZnO is mainly hindered by the defects of ZnO. Here, we investigate the effects of ZnO nanoparticle surface modification with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) on the performance of bulk heterojunction hybrid solar cells based on poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] (MEH-PPV) and ZnO nanoparticles. The reference device using ZnO nanoparticles as electron acceptor shows an open-circuit voltage (VOC) of 0.83 V, a short-circuit current (JSC) of 3.00 mA/cm2, a fill factor (FF) of 0.46 and a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.15%. After modification with very small amount of PEO, the PCE will be enhanced, which is attributed to less surface traps of ZnO nanoparticles with PEO modification. With optimized PEO (0.05%) modified ZnO nanoparticles as electron acceptors, the device typically shows a VOC of 0.86 V, a JSC of 3.84 mA/cm2, a FF of 0.51 and a PCE of 1.68% due to less recombination loss of carriers, smaller series resistance, and improved electrical coupling between ZnO nanoparticle and MEH-PPV. However, further increase of PEO content to 0.3% will deteriorate device performance.