Premium
Nanoscale Analysis of a Hierarchical Hybrid Solar Cell in 3D
Author(s) -
Divitini Giorgio,
Stenzel Ole,
Ghadirzadeh Ali,
Guarnera Simone,
Russo Valeria,
Casari Carlo S.,
Bassi Andrea Li,
Petrozza Annamaria,
Di Fonzo Fabio,
Schmidt Volker,
Ducati Caterina
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201302836
Subject(s) - materials science , photocurrent , nanostructure , nanoscopic scale , solar cell , nanotechnology , electron tomography , characterization (materials science) , percolation (cognitive psychology) , focused ion beam , nanoparticle , optoelectronics , ion , physics , scanning transmission electron microscopy , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , transmission electron microscopy , biology
A quantitative method for the characterization of nanoscale 3D morphology is applied to the investigation of a hybrid solar cell based on a novel hierarchical nanostructured photoanode. A cross section of the solar cell device is prepared by focused ion beam milling in a micropillar geometry, which allows a detailed 3D reconstruction of the titania photoanode by electron tomography. It is found that the hierarchical titania nanostructure facilitates polymer infiltration, thus favoring intermixing of the two semiconducting phases, essential for charge separation. The 3D nanoparticle network is analyzed with tools from stochastic geometry to extract information related to the charge transport in the hierarchical solar cell. In particular, the experimental dataset allows direct visualization of the percolation pathways that contribute to the photocurrent.