Issue 30, 2018

A simple synthesis of transparent and highly conducting p-type CuxAl1−xSy nanocomposite thin films as the hole transporting layer for organic solar cells

Abstract

Inorganic p-type films with high mobility are very important for opto-electronic applications. It is very difficult to synthesize p-type films with a wider, tunable band gap energy and suitable band energy levels. In this research, p-type copper aluminum sulfide (CuxAl1−xSy) films with tunable optical band gap, carrier density, hole mobility and conductivity were first synthesized using a simple, low cost and low temperature chemical bath deposition method. These in situ fabricated CuxAl1−xSy films were deposited at 60 °C using an aqueous solution of copper(II) chloride dihydrate (CuCl2·2H2O), aluminium nitrate nonohydrate [Al(NO3)3·9H2O], thiourea [(NH2)2CS], and ammonium hydroxide, with citric acid as the complexing agent. Upon varying the ratio of the precursor, the band gap of the CuxAl1−xSy films can be tuned from 2.63 eV to 4.01 eV. The highest hole mobility obtained was 1.52 cm2 V−1 s−1 and the best conductivity obtained was 546 S cm−1. The CuxAl1−xSy films were used as a hole transporting layer (HTL) in organic solar cells (OSCs), and a good performance of the OSCs was demonstrated using the CuxAl1−xSy films as the HTL. These results demonstrate the remarkable potential of CuxAl1−xSy as hole transport material for opto-electronic devices.

Graphical abstract: A simple synthesis of transparent and highly conducting p-type CuxAl1−xSy nanocomposite thin films as the hole transporting layer for organic solar cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 Feb 2018
Accepted
26 Apr 2018
First published
08 May 2018
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2018,8, 16887-16896

A simple synthesis of transparent and highly conducting p-type CuxAl1−xSy nanocomposite thin films as the hole transporting layer for organic solar cells

X. Dai, H. Lei, C. Chen, Y. Guo and G. Fang, RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 16887 DOI: 10.1039/C8RA01299G

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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