Characterization and application of nano-composite zinc oxide/poly vinyl alcohol thin-film in solar cell performance enhancement

• Main Authors: Ahmed Khan, Shaheer, Rahman, Mohammed Ataur, Khan, Wajahat, Haider, Syed Mustafa
• Format: Article
• Language: English; English
• Published: Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers 2023
• Subjects: T173.2 Technological change
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/106668/1/106668_Characterization%20and%20application%20of%20nano-composite.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/106668/2/106668_Characterization%20and%20application%20of%20nano-composite_SCOPUS.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/106668/; https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12206-022-0806-2

Flexible, economical, and low-toxic organic solar cells are becoming highly popular in photovoltaic research. Interestingly, its efficiency of energy conversion remains lower than that of silicon-based solar cells. As a result, it is unavoidable to focus on organic solar cell efficiency enhancement. This article presents a nano-composite thin-film developed using zinc oxide (ZnO) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with a solution casting technique varying weight per- centage (wt.%) of ZnO into the PVA matrix. The characterization of the thin-film of ZnO/PVA has been made using SEM, XRD, FTIR, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The characterization re- veals that the ZnO nanoparticle network forms an excellent path for electron flow in the PVA matrix at the optimal ZnO concentration of 16.66 % and a PVA concentration of 83.33 %. The thin film was applied to an organic solar cell of architecture consists of carbon fiber reinforced with ZnO-epoxy resin/CuO-epoxy resin for performance investigation. The solar cell's maxi- mum efficiency was determined to be 9.01 % before and 14.65 % after using the nano- composite film. 5.64 % increase in the efficiency of organic solar cells are observed after the ZnO/PVA nanocomposite thin film is applied.