ZINC OXIDE NANOSTRUCTURES TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY OF ORGANIC SOLAR CELLS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59627/cbens.2022.1111Keywords:
Nanoparticles, Zinc Oxide, Organic Solar CellAbstract
This work presents a new approach in exploring zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs), aiming to improve the performance of on organic solar cells (OSC). ZnO nanoparticles dispersed on the top surface of the cell active layer can reduce the device reflection and increase the absorption of solar radiation in the photovoltaic active layer, acting as nano-diffusers and introducing an increase of the light path inside the device. In this work, optical and electrical modeling of photovoltaic cells with the insertion of ZnO NPs on top of the active layer are presented. Computer simulations, based on the finite element method, will be used to analyze the contribution of ZnO nanodiffusers in improving cell performance. ZnO nanoparticles will be synthesized by a green synthesis route and experimentally characterized. Results show that the use of ZnO NPs (160 nm in diameter) on the top surface of an organic solar cell can reduce the device reflectance by up to 95 % for λ = 530 nm, promoting efficient light coupling in the active layer of the cell and simultaneously increasing the absorbance (26 %) of the device. It was also verified that the contributions of “light trapping” and anti-reflective effect improve photocurrent generation, showing an increase in short-circuit current density.
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