A review on carbon nanotube/polymer composites for organic solar cells

SUMMARY Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have unique properties, such as their electrical conductivity, that enable them to be combined with conducting polymers to form composites for use in organic solar cells (OSCs). It is envisaged that the improved composite has a higher efficiency of green energy and wi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of energy research 2014-10, Vol.38 (13), p.1635-1653
Main Authors: Keru, Godfrey, Ndungu, Patrick G., Nyamori, Vincent O.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Carbon nanotubes
Charge carriers
Clean energy
CNT/polymer composites
Conducting polymers
Energy
Exact sciences and technology
Natural energy
organic solar cells
Photovoltaic cells
Photovoltaic conversion
Polymer matrix composites
Renewable energy
renewable green energy
Solar cells
Solar cells. Photoelectrochemical cells
Solar energy
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:SUMMARY Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have unique properties, such as their electrical conductivity, that enable them to be combined with conducting polymers to form composites for use in organic solar cells (OSCs). It is envisaged that the improved composite has a higher efficiency of green energy and will reduce the cost of these cells. The use of such alternative energy sources also drastically reduces overuse of fossil fuels and consequently limits environmental degradation. This review compares research and performance between conventional silicon solar cells and OSCs. It also discusses OSC photoexcitation and charge carrier generation with the incorporation of CNTs, physicochemical properties of the composites and other factors that affect the efficiencies of OSCs. In addition, properties of CNTs that favour their dispersion in polymer matrices as acceptors and charge carriers to the electrodes are covered. The effects of CNTs containing dopants, such as nitrogen and boron, on charge transfer are discussed. Also, the fabrication techniques of OSCs that include CNT/polymer composite processing and the methods of film deposition on the substrate are described. Finally, the case studies of OSCs containing polymers with single‐walled CNTs, double‐walled CNTs or multi‐walled CNTs are evaluated. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Conducting carbon nanotube/polymer composites are synthesized for photovoltaic cells to provide renewable green energy.
ISSN:0363-907X
1099-114X
DOI:10.1002/er.3194