Efficient polymer nanocrystal hybrid solar cells by improved nanocrystal composition

We demonstrate the importance of the nanocrystal surface treatment and the inorganic composition for hybrid solar cells. Mixtures of CdSe nanorods and CdSe quantum dots integrated in hybrid solar cells together with the conjugated polymer poly[2,6-(4,4-bis-(2-ethylhexyl)-4H-cyclopenta[2,1-b;3,4-b']-dithiophene)-alt-4,7-(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)] (PCPDTBT) perform better than nanorod and quantum dot only based devices. In addition larger sized quantum dots show a similar improvement after integration in respective solar cells. Power conversion efficiency values exceeding 3% are observed. A first result on the shelf lifetime of such a device is highlighted.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Importance of the CdSe nanocrystal composition is demonstrated. ► Postsynthetic nanocrystal treatment significantly enhances the device performance. ► Mixing of quantum dots and nanorods leads to improved device efficiencies. ► Larger-sized quantum dots result in device efficiencies up to 3.1%.