Silver sulphide nano-particles enhanced photo-current in polymer solar cells

Silver sulphide nano-particles (NPs) have been employed as light trapping mechanism in the solar absorber layer of thin film inverted organic solar cell. The synthesized nano-particle has been characterized using high-resolution scanning and transmission electron microscopy (HRSEM and HRTEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD). The effects of Ag ₂S NPs in the newly fabricated inverted polymer solar cell with architecture ITO/ZnO/P3HT:PC ₆₁BM -Ag ₂S /MoO ₃/ AL were characterized using optical and electrical properties of the solar absorber film. The optimized NPs in the photoactive layers are designed to improve photons harvesting, charge transport and reduced charge recombination, which resulted in the collection of high short circuit current density, as large as 16.50mAcm-2. The measured high photocurrent and better device rectification has lead to improved power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) and device stability. The best power conversion efficiency recorded in this investigations was 5.15 % at the concentration of 1 % Ag ₂S by weight. Furthermore, the solar cells exhibited extraordinary environmental stability stored in ambient environment which is attributed to the inverted device architecture.