Fabrication and Photovoltaic Properties of Organic Solar Cell Based on Zinc Phthalocyanine

Zahoor Ul Islam, Muhammad Tahir, Waqar Adil Syed, Fakhra Aziz, Fazal Wahab, Suhana Mohd Said, Mahidur R. Sarker, Sawal Hamid Md Ali and Mohd Faizul Mohd Sabri
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Zahoor Ul Islam: Department of Physics, International Islamic University Islamabad, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Muhammad Tahir: Department of Physics, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200, Pakistan
Waqar Adil Syed: Department of Physics, International Islamic University Islamabad, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Fakhra Aziz: Department of Electronics, Jinnah College for Women, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan
Fazal Wahab: Department of Physics, Karakoram International University, Gilgit Baltistan 15100, Pakistan
Suhana Mohd Said: Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Mahidur R. Sarker: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Sawal Hamid Md Ali: Department of Electric, Electronics and System Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia
Mohd Faizul Mohd Sabri: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: Herein, we report thin films’ characterizations and photovoltaic properties of an organic semiconductor zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc). To study the former, a 100 nm thick film of ZnPc is thermally deposited on quartz glass by using vacuum thermal evaporator at 1.5 × 10 −6 mbar. Surface features of the ZnPc film are studied by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) with in situ energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis and atomic force microscope (AFM) which reveal uniform film growth, grain sizes and shapes with slight random distribution of the grains. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies are carried out of the ZnPc thin films to measure its optical bandgap (1.55 eV and 3.08 eV) as well as to study chemical composition and bond-dynamics. To explore photovoltaic properties of ZnPc, an Ag/ZnPc/PEDOT:PSS/ITO cell is fabricated by spin coating a 20 nm thick film of hole transport layer (HTL)—poly-(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS)—on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate followed by thermal evaporation of a 100 nm layer of ZnPc and 50 nm silver (Ag) electrode. Current-voltage ( I-V ) properties of the fabricated device are measured in dark as well as under illumination at standard testing conditions (STC), i.e., 300 K, 100 mW/cm 2 and 1.5 AM global by using solar simulator. The key device parameters such as ideality factor ( n ), barrier height ( ? b ), junction/interfacial resistance ( R s ) and forward current rectification of the device are measured in the dark which exhibit the formation of depletion region. The Ag/ZnPc/PEDOT:PSS/ITO device demonstrates good photovoltaic characteristics by offering 0.48 fill factor (FF) and 1.28 ± 0.05% power conversion efficiency (PCE), η.

Keywords: zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc); photovoltaic properties; organic solar cell; thin film characterization; optical bandgap; current-voltage (I-V) properties (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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