Nano-engineered Nanotube Networks with Enhanced Vertical Charge Transport in a Semiconducting Polymer

David Barbero^a, Nicolas Boulanger^a

^aUniversity of Umeå, Physics Dept, Umeå University, Umeå, 90187, Sweden

International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics
Proceedings of International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics 2015 (HOPV15)

Roma, Italy, 2015 May 11th - 13th

Organizer: Filippo De Angelis

Poster, David Barbero, 056
Publication date: 5th February 2015

Due to their exceptional charge transport properties, single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are expected to enhance the performance of organic based photovoltaic (PV) solar cells through an ultrafast charge transfer process when placed in contact with a semiconducting organic interface such as poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT)¹. However, in order to produce efficient charge transport through the active layer, a percolated network of interconnected tubes must be formed. Typical methods (e.g. spin-coating, drop-casting) do not form an efficient pathway for charges, and they often result in randomly organized networks and nanotube aggregates which have been shown to lower conductivity^2,3. Here, we present a new method to control the placement and orientation of nanotubes into nanoscale domains, and to form highly conductive nanoscale networks. These nanoscale nano-engineered SWNT networks are demonstrated in a composite film made of >90% semi-conducting nanotubes in a P3HT matrix⁵. The nanoscale networks produced by this novel method result in several orders of magnitude increase in charge transport through the composite layer compared to a spun or drop-cast film. Moreover, the percolation limit in the nano-engineered networks is strongly reduced by more than 100 times compared to random networks, which enables a considerable decrease in materials costs and prevents bundling in the devices. This novel method is expected to help produce more efficient and cheaper hybrid nanocarbon OPV devices.
Nano-engineered carbon nanotube networks in a polymer composite thin film.
1. Stranks, S. D. ; Weisspfennig, C.; Parkinson, P.; Johnston, M. B. ; Herz, L. M. ; Nicholas, R. J. Nano Lett. 2011, 11(1), 66–72. 2. Nirmalraj, P. N. ; Lyons, P. E. ; Coleman, J. N. ; Boland, J. J. Nano Lett. 2009, 9(11), 3890–3895. 3. Kymakis, E.; Amaratunga, G. A. J. J. Appl. Phys. 2006, 99 (8), 084302. 4. Barbero, D. R. ; Boulanger, N.; Ramstedt; M., Yu, J. , Advanced Materials 2014, 21, 3111. Also on the cover of this journal. 5. Boulanger, N. and Barbero, D. R., 2014, Nanoscale, 6(20), 11633. Also on the cover of this journal.

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