Andreia Morais

Enhanced photovoltaic performance of inverted hybrid bulk-heterojunction solar cells using TiO2/reduced graphene oxide films as electron transport layers

Abstract. In this study, we investigated inverted hybrid bulk-heterojunction solar cells with the following configuration: fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) |TiO2/RGO|P3HT:PC61BM|V2O5 or PEDOT:PSS|Ag. The TiO2/GO dispersions were prepared by sol-gel method, employing titanium isopropoxide and graphene oxide (GO) as starting materials. The GO concentration was varied from 0.1 to 4.0 wt%. The corresponding dispersions were spin-coated onto FTO substrates and a thermal treatment was performed to remove organic materials and to reduce GO to reduced graphene oxide (RGO). The TiO2/RGO films were characterized by x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and microscopy techniques. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images showed that the addition of RGO significantly changes the morphology of the TiO2 films, with loss of uniformity and increase in surface roughness. Independent of the use of V2O5 or PEDOT: PSS films as the hole transport layer, the incorporation of 2.0 wt% of RGO into TiO2 films was the optimal concentration for the best organic photovoltaic performance. The solar cells based on TiO2/RGO (2.0 wt%) electrode exhibited a ∼22.3% and ∼28.9% short circuit current density (Jsc) and a power conversion efficiency enhancement, respectively, if compared with the devices based on pure TiO2 films. Kelvin probe force microscopy images suggest that the incorporation of RGO into TiO2 films can promote the appearance of regions with different charge dissipation capacities.

Application of Graphene and Graphene Derivatives/Oxide Nanomaterials for Solar Cells

Abstract The field of emerging photovoltaic solar cells demands materials with a plurality of functions and these are difficult to be found in just one component. Hybrid organic-inorganic materials have been applied with success in many technological niches, due to the synergy of their counterparts that results in devices with improved performance. In this chapter, we introduce the application of graphene (and its derivatives) in combination with metal oxide semiconductor nanostructures in different types of emerging photovoltaic solar cells: dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), perovskite solar cells (PSC), and organic photovoltaics (OPV). As a general trend, the combination of carbonaceous materials with inorganic nanoparticles results in materials with better optical, electronic and transport properties in comparison to individual components. Both pristine graphene (and its derivatives) and the resulting nanocomposites can be used in many parts of the devices, from transparent conducting electrodes to electron or hole transport layers. This chapter highlights the most recent contributions in this area, the bottlenecks and the future challenges of graphene (and its derivatives) in combination with metal oxide semiconductor nanostructures.

Color tunable hybrid light-emitting diodes based on perovskite quantum dot/conjugated polymer

Inorganic organic metal halide perovskite materials have been investigated for several technological applications, such as photovoltaic cells, lasers, photodetectors and light emitting diodes (LEDs), either in the bulk form or as colloidal nanoparticles. Recently, all inorganic Cesium Lead Halide (CsPbX3, X=Cl,Br, I) perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) were reported with high photoluminescence quantum yield with narrow emission lines in the visible wavelengths. Here, green-emitting perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) prepared by a synthetic method based on a mixture of oleylamine and oleic acid as surfactants were applied in the electroluminescent layer of hybrid LEDs in combination with two different conjugated polymers: polyvinylcarbazole (PVK) or poly(9,9-di-n-octylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (PFO). The performance of the diodes and the emission color tuning upon dispersion of different concentrations of the PQDs in the polymer matrix is discussed. The presented approach aims at the combination of the optical properties of the PQDs and their interaction with wide bandgap conjugated polymers, associated with the solution processing ability of these materials.

Nanostructured hybrid materials based on reduced graphene oxide for solar energy conversion

Research on carbon-based photocatalytic nanomaterials has been a field in continuous expansion in the last years. Graphene (or its derivatives) is currently one of the most studied materials due to its high surface area, photodegradation resistance, optical transparency and high charge mobility values. All of these excellent properties are highlighted for applications in various research areas. The incorporation of small amounts of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets in semiconductors matrices is also a strategy widely used to improve the physicochemical properties, which cannot normally be achieved using conventional composites or pristine semiconductors. Most studies suggest that these twodimensional (2D) materials can facilitate electron injection and assist the electron transport in semiconductors. In this context, this manuscript will present examples of graphene-based semiconductor nanocomposites obtained by our research group and their application in the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB), photocatalytic conversion of CO2 to hydrocarbon fuels and photocatalytic water splitting reaction. Our results show the positive effect of coupling the RGO sheets with semiconductors for photocatalysis.