Influence of crystal phase for CuInS2 on device performance of polymer–CuInS2/oxide nanoarrays solar cells

The paper demonstrates the influence of crystal phase for CuInS2 on device performance of MEH-PPV-CuInS2/oxide nanoarrays hybrid polymer-based solar cells. CuInS2 quantum dots with wurtzite and chalcopyrite crystallographic phases are incorporated into pristine polymer layer as light-harvesting hybrids, while ZnO nanoarrays (ZnO-NA) and TiO2 nanoarrays (TiO2-NA) are used as electron acceptor. Results show that devices with wurtzite CuInS2 quantum dots (WCIS-QDs) exhibited higher photovoltaic performance in MEH-PPV-CuInS2/ZnO-NA solar cells, while devices with chalcopyrite CuInS2 quantum dots (CCIS-QDs) exhibited higher performance in MEH-PPV-CuInS2/TiO2-NA solar cells. It is concluded that the devices based on metal oxide and CuInS2 that belong to the same crystal system contribute to the increased device performance, which possibly results from the more effective energy transfer and transport between metal oxide and CuInS2 with the same crystal system.