Improved efficiency of organic/inorganic photovoltaic devices by electrospun ZnO nanofibers

The efficiency of the photovoltaic (PV) device based on P3HT and PCBM bulk heterojunction is improved by introducing small-diameter electrospun ZnO diffused nanofibers network. Diameter, diffusion and melting of nanofibers are controlled by calcination temperature. The thickness of the active layer is optimized for efficient PV devices by varying electrospinning (ES) time. Increased nanofiber's mat thickness by an increase in electrospinning time beyond a certain optimum value reduces the device performance due to increased series resistance, increased traps and reduced blend infiltration through the nanofiber pores. ES time suggests optimized active area for energy absorption and exciton dissociation. In this study, we report the improvement in power conversion efficiency (PCE) from 0.9% to 2.23%, for optimum ES time (∼300 s).

► Hybrid P3HT:PCBM/ZnO nanofibers photovoltaic devices with improved efficiency (2.23%).
► Improved open circuit voltage and fill factor.
► Studied the effect of electrospinning time to improve device performance.
► Such effect was not reported for Zno/P3HT:PCBM hybrid photovoltaic devices.
► Optimizing nanofiber mat thickness by optimum electrospinning time to allow maximum infiltration through the pores.