Effect of single walled carbon nanotubes on the threshold voltage of dye based photovoltaic devices

Carbon nanotubes are being widely used in organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices as their usage has been reported to enhance the device efficiency along with other related parameters. In this work we have studied the energy (Ec) effect of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) on the threshold voltage (Vth) and also on the trap states of dye based photovoltaic devices. SWCNT is added in a series of dyes such as Rose Bengal (RB), Methyl Red (MR), Malachite Green (MG) and Crystal Violet (CV). By analysing the steady state dark current-voltage (I-V) characteristics Vth and Ec is estimated for the different devices with and without addition of SWCNT. It is observed that on an average for all the dyes Vth is reduced by about 30% in presence of SWCNT. The trap energy Ec also reduces in case of all the dyes. The relation between Vth, Ec and total trap density is discussed. From the photovoltaic measurements it is seen that the different photovoltaic parameters change with addition of SWCNT to the dye based devices. Both the short circuit current density and fill factor are found to increase for all the dye based devices in presence of SWCNT.