Hybrid solar cells with an inverted structure: Nanodots incorporated ternary system

Ternary system hybrid solar cells that are composed of CdSe nanodots, poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) with an inverted structure were investigated. The incorporation of 10 wt% CdSe nanodots showed increased power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.05% compared with that of a binary system with P3HT and PCBM, which is comparable with the best reported efficiency of nanocrystal based solar cells. The photophysical energy level of inverted structure and electrochemical, optical properties and microscopy images of the ternary systems were systematically investigated to elucidate the mechanism. The obtained hybrid solar cell showed enhanced stability through exposure in ambient condition without any encapsulation.

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► Ternary system hybrid solar cells of CdSe nanodots, P3HT and PCBM with inverted structure were fabricated.
► We examined the effect of incorporation CdSe nanodots.
► A promising PCE of 3.05% was the best reported efficiency for adding CdSe nanodots.
► 70% of the device initial efficiency was kept after exposure in ambient for 21 days.