Investigation of polymer/inorganic hybrid photovoltaic device using quantum dots as the interface modifier

CdS quantum dots (QDs) were introduced as an interface modifier in the poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/TiO2 nanorod arrays hybrid photovoltaic device. The presence of CdS QDs interlayer was found to provide enhanced light absorption, increased interfacial recombination resistance at the P3HT/TiO2 interfaces, thus leading to a lower recombination rate of the electrons due to the stepwise structure of band edge in P3HT/CdS/TiO2, which accounts for the observed enhanced photocurrent and photovoltage of the hybrid solar cells. The optimized performance was achieved in P3HT/CdS/TiO2 hybrid solar cells after deposition of CdS QDs for 10 cycles, with a power conversion efficiency of 0.57 %, which is nearly ten times higher than that of P3HT/TiO2. The findings indicate that inorganic semiconductor quantum dots provide effective means to improve the performance of polymer/TiO2 hybrid solar cells.