Phosphonate self-assembled monolayers as organic linkers in solid-state quantum dot sensetized solar cells
Abstract
We have employed X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, water contact angle (WCA) measurements, ellipsometry, and electrical measurements to study the effects of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with phosphonic acid headgroups on the bonding and performance of cadmium sulfide (CdS) solid-state quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). ∼2 to ∼6 nm size CdS quantum dots (QDs) were grown on the SAM-passivated TiO2 surfaces by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR). Our results show differences in the bonding of the CdS QDs at the TiO2 surfaces with a SAM linker. Moreover, our data indicate that presence of a SAM increases the CdS uptake on TiO2 as well as the performance of the resulting devices. Importantly, we observe ∼2 times higher power conversion efficiencies in the devices with a SAM compared to those that lack a SAM. © 2010 IEEE.Citation
Ardalan P, Brennan TP, Bakke JR, Bent SF (2010) Phosphonate self-assembled monolayers as organic linkers in solid-state quantum dot sensetized solar cells. 2010 35th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2010.5614620.Sponsors
The authors would like to acknowledge I-KangDing for help with the device fabrication and the solarsimulator measurements. We also thank the StanfordNanocharacterization Laboratory (SNL) staff and the staffof the Center for Polymer Interfaces and MacromolecularAssemblies (CPIMA) for their support. This publicationwas based on work supported by the Center for AdvancedMolecular Photovoltaics (Award No. KUS-C1-015-21),made by King Abdullah University of Science andTechnology (KAUST).Handle URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/599181ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1109/PVSC.2010.5614620