Facile enhancement of bulk heterojunction solar cells performance by utilizing PbSe nanorods decorated with graphene.

An efficient approach for improving the photoelectrical conversion efficiency (PCE) of the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells, based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61 butyric acidmethyl ester (PC61BM), by incorporating PbSe nanorods decorated with graphene (G) into their active layer has been reported for the first time. Pristine PbSe and PbSe:G composites (with different amount of graphene) are synthesized via hydrothermal process and the formation mechanism is explained. The systematic investigation indicates that the crystallite size of PbSe:G increases with increasing graphene content. The PCE of the classical BHJ solar cells based on P3HT:PC61BM is improved from 2.32 up to 2.57% by the incorporation of pristine PbSe. It is also enhanced by the incorporation of PbSe:G up to certain composition of graphene in which a maximum PCE value of 5.16% is achieved. The external quantum efficiency of the BHJ solar cells is also investigated. The photovoltaic parameters are discussed based on the morphology variation detected by scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope of the active layers together with their UV-VIS absorption measurements.

Structural, morphological and optical properties of ZnSe quantum dot thin films.

ZnSe powder was prepared via hydrothermal technique using zinc acetate and sodium selenite as source materials. The prepared ZnSe powder was used for preparing film with different thickness values (95, 135 and 230 nm) via thermal evaporation technique. X-ray diffraction showed that the prepared powder has cubic zinc-blende structure with a space group, F43m. The high resolution transmittance electron microscope results show that the films are composed of spherical-shaped nanoparticles with a diameter in the range of 2-8 nm. The optical properties of ZnSe films with differing thicknesses are investigated by means of spectrophotometric measurements of the photoluminescence, transmittance and reflectance. The absorption coefficient of the films is calculated and the optical band gap is estimated. The refractive index of the films is determined and its normal dispersion behavior is analyzed on the basis of a single oscillator model, in which oscillator energy, dispersion energy and dielectric constant at high frequency are evaluated. Drude model is also applied to determine the lattice dielectric constant and the ratio of the carriers' concentration to their effective mass.

Optical properties and device characteristics of 2-(antipyrin-4-ylhydrazono)-2-(4-nitrophenyl)acetonitrile thin films for photodiode applications.

2-(Antipyrin-4-ylhydrazono)-2-(4-nitrophenyl)acetonitrile (AHNA) films were deposited via thermal evaporation technique. The optical properties of AHNA films and electrical characteristics of Au/AHNA/n-Si/Au heterojunction diode have been reported. The optical properties of AHNA films were investigated using the spectrophotometric measurements of optical transmittance and reflectance over spectral range 190-2500 nm. The films have indirect allowed optical band gap of 3.6 eV. The refractive index of the films was calculated and the dispersion parameters of the films were determined on the light of the single oscillator model. The electrical properties of Au/AHNA/n-Si/Au heterojunction diode were studied in terms of current-voltage characteristics. The device showed rectification behaviour with a rectification ratio of 100 at ±1 V. The conduction mechanisms and diode parameters such as ideality factor, barrier height and series resistance of the device were determined. The device under illumination showed photovoltaic properties. The short circuit current and open circuit voltage were found to be function of illumination intensity. The device satisfies the conditions to be used as photodiode.

DFT approach for FT-IR spectra and HOMO-LUMO energy gap for N-(p-dimethylaminobenzylidene)-p-nitroaniline (DBN).

In the present work, a combined experimental and computational study for the optimized molecular structural parameters, FT-IR spectra, thermo-chemical parameters, total dipole moment and HOMO-LUMO energy gap for N-(p-diethylaminobenzylidene)p-nitroaniline (DBN) have been investigated using B3LYP/6-311G basis set. Our calculated results have showed that the investigated compound possesses a dipole moment of 12 Debye and HOMO-LUMO energy gap of 2.94 eV which indicate high recommendations for photovoltaic devices fabrication.

Synthesis, crystal structure and thin-film-optical properties of 3-amino-2-(2-nitrophenyl)diazinyl-3-(morpholin-1-yl)acrylonitrile.

3-Amino-2-(2-nitrophenyl)diazinyl-3-(morpholin-1-yl)acrylonitrile (ANMA) has been successfully synthesized via conventional solvent method, and its molecular structure has been identified by using various techniques including FTIR, (1)H NMR, MS and elemental analysis. The crystal structure of ANMA is characterized by single crystal X-ray crystallography. Crystallographic data revealed that the spatial structure of ANMA belongs to monoclinic, P21 a space group. ANMA thin films were deposited onto optical flat quartz substrates by using thermal evaporation under vacuum pressure of 2×10(-4) Pa. The optical properties of the films are studied in terms of the measurements of transmittance and reflectance determined at the normal incident of light over the spectral range 200-2400 nm. The absorption coefficient of the films is computed and the optical band gap of the films is estimated. In addition, the complex refractive index for the films has been calculated and described. Single oscillator model is found to be applicable for the films in which the dispersion parameters namely; single oscillator energy, dispersion energy, dielectric constant at high frequency, lattice dielectric constant and the ratio of carrier concentration to the effective mass are estimated.

Spectroscopic analysis of 2-(2,3-dihydro-1,5-dimethyl-3-oxo-2-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-ylimino)-2-(4-nitro-phenyl) acetonitrile.

The optimized geometry and vibrational frequencies of 2-(2,3-dihydro-1,5-dimethyl-3-oxo-2-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-ylimino)-2-(4-nitro-phenyl) acetonitrile (DOPNA) were obtained by ab initio DFT/B3LYP level with complete relaxation in the potential energy surface using 6-31G and 6-311G basis sets. The Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrum of DOPNA has been recorded in the region 4000-400 cm(-1). The harmonic vibrational frequencies were calculated and the scaled values have been compared with experimental FT-IR spectrum. The calculated frequencies are in comparable agreement with the experimental frequencies. The calculated energy span between the HOMO and the LUMO of DOPNA is 2.94 and 2.87eV by B3LYP/6-31G and B3LYP/6-311G, respectively.