We report an enhancement in the efficiency of organic solar cells via the incorporation of gold (Au) or silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) in the hole-transporting buffer layer of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), which was formed on an indium tin oxide (ITO) surface by the spin-coating of PEDOT:PSS-Au or Ag NPs composite solution. The composite solution was synthesized by a simple in situ preparation method which involved the reduction of chloroauric acid (HAuCl4) or silver nitrate (AgNO3) with sodium borohydride (NaBH4) solution in the presence of aqueous PEDOT:PSS media. The NPs were well dispersed in the PEDOT:PSS media and showed a characteristic absorption peak due to the surface plasmon resonance effect. Organic solar cells with the structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS-Au, Ag NPs/poly(3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM)/LiF/Al exhibited an 8% improvement in their power conversion efficiency mainly due to the enlarged surface roughness of the PEDOT:PSS, which lead to an improvement in the charge collection and ultimately improvements in the short-circuit current density and fill factor.

We report a highly effective surface treatment method for planar-type Sb2S3 solar cells by employing a Cs2CO3-modified compact TiO2 (c-TiO2) electron transport layer. It is found that surface treatment using a Cs2CO3 solution can shift the work function of c-TiO2 upward and reduce its surface roughness. As a result, compared with the power conversion efficiency of untreated solar cells, that of the treated solar cells with a glass/FTO/c-TiO2(/Cs2CO3)/Sb2S3/P3HT/Au structure significantly improved from 2.83 to 3.97%. This study demonstrates that the introduction of Cs2CO3 on a c-TiO2 layer is a simple and efficient way to adjust the work function of the electron transport layer and fabricate high-performance planar-type Sb2S3 solar cells.

CsPbIBr₂, a cesium-based all-inorganic halide perovskite (CsPe), is a very promising alternative material to mainstream organic–inorganic hybrid halide perovskite (HPe) materials owing to its exceptional moisture stability, thermal stability, and light stability. However, because of the wide band gap (2.05 eV) of CsPbIBr₂, it has a low power conversion efficiency (PCE), which hinders its application in highly efficient solar cells. In this study, a facile nanoimprinted one-dimensional grating nanopattern (1D GNP) formation on mesoporous TiO₂ (mp-TiO₂) photoelectrodes was introduced to improve the effective light utilization and enhance the performance of CsPbIBr₂ perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The 1D GNP structure on the mp-TiO₂ layer increases the light absorption efficiency by diffracting the unabsorbed light into the active mp-TiO₂ and CsPbIBr₂ layers as well as increasing the charge separation and collection due to the extended interfacial contact area between the mp-TiO₂ and CsPbIBr₂ layers. Consequently, both the current density (J_SC) and the fill factor (FF) of the fabricated cells improved, leading to over a 20% enhancement in the solar cell’s PCE. Thus, this periodic grating structure, fabricated by simple nanoimprinting, could play an important role in the large-scale production of highly efficient and cost-effective Cs-based PSCs.

Correction: In situ-prepared composite materials of PEDOT: PSS buffer layer-metal nanoparticles and their application to organic solar cells

We have studied the effect of embedding gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) on the performance of hybrid solar cells (HSCs) with Ag/PEDOT:PSS/n type Si/Al structure. The composite PEDOT:PSS-AuNPs solutions were prepared by a simple in situ method, and showed the characteristic absorption peak due to surface plasmonic resonance effects. An HSC device prepared using the PEDOT:PSS-AuNPs composite showed power conversion efficiency of 11.19%, approximately 19% higher than that of a control device without AuNPs (9.42%). The enhanced performance of the HSC with embedded AuNPs is not due to the plasmonic effect, but to the lower series resistance of the device and the higher roughness of the PEDOT:PSS surface, which promotes a more efficient charge collection and therefore contributes to increasing the fill factor.