Interpenetrating multiwall carbon nanotube electrodes for organic solar cells

Abstract

Low concentrations of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) $(\sim 1\mathrm{wt}\%)$ uniformly distributed within the donor layer of a heterojunction organic solar cell are shown to be an effective means of greatly reducing cell series resistance without compromising cell shunt resistance, resulting in an increase in cell fill factor of 50–60%. By chemically functionalizing MWCNTs with polar surface moieties, it is also possible to manipulate device open circuit voltage. The results of this study demonstrate that MWCNTs have excellent potential as a versatile interpenetrating electrode material for organic solar cells.