Wang, Yang
(2014)
Charge Transfer and Photovoltaics with Inorganic Semiconductor Nanoparticles.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Colloidal semiconductor nanoparticles (NP) are emerging as a new class of solution-processable materials for low-cost, flexible, thin-film photovoltaic devices. The NP quantum size effect allows researchers to selectively tune the NP 19s absorption coverage across a broad range of the solar spectrum. Recent advances have led to a power conversion efficiency of 7% for NP-based solar cells. However, exciton generation, separation, and recombination processes in these devices are not well-understood, which largely limit further improvement of the efficiency. Thus, this dissertation studies the underlying processes that control the kinetics for photogenerated charges in the NP-based devices. The first work in this dissertation addresses how the size-tunable energetics of the NPs change once they are electronically coupled with a conductive substrate. The second study focuses on the energy architecture and alignment for the NP with respect to the energy levels of electron and hole transporting media. The third study explores the donor-acceptor interfacial charge transfer between a conjugated copolymer and a NP with the goal of driving efficient charge separation for inorganic/organic hybrid solar cells. The last study investigates the effect of thermal annealing on the photovoltaic performance for PbS NP/TiO2 depleted heterojunction solar cells. The findings in these studies provide a deeper understanding of charge transfer kinetics for the NP, and may facilitate the development of the NP-based photovoltaics for use in next generation solar cells.
Share
| Citation/Export: |
|
| Social Networking: |
|
Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
|
| Date: |
25 September 2014 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
22 October 2013 |
| Approval Date: |
25 September 2014 |
| Submission Date: |
21 May 2014 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
168 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Chemistry |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
semiconductor nanoparticles; photovoltaics; charge transfer |
| Date Deposited: |
25 Sep 2014 18:08 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 14:16 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/20150 |
Metrics
Monthly Views for the past 3 years
Plum Analytics
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
![[feed]](/images/feed-icon-32x32.png){kind=icon}