Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂) Concentration-dependent Photovoltaic Cells Performance of PAni-TiO₂ Nanocomposite

Abstract

By optimizing the features of the photoactivated polyaniline-titanium dioxide (PAni-TiO 2 ) nanocomposite layer, varied concentrations of TiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) inside PAni matrix were used to improve the performance of organic cells. In this work, polymer solar cells were designed using the FTO/(PAni- TiO 2 )/Ag combination. PAni-TiO 2 films’ structural evolution, surface properties, optical and electrical characteristics have been studied. The XRD patterns showed that the crystallite size gradually decreases from 18.7 to 12.8 nm depending on the TiO 2 NPs concentration in the PAni matrix. In addition, the surface of the highly concentrated films was rougher and more porous than it was for the pristine film. With varying concentrations of TiO 2 NPs incorporated into the PAni structure, PAni- TiO 2 based composite cells’ efficiency enhanced from 0.33 to 0.85%. This conclusion is mostly related to a structural shift accompanied by a high increase in roughness scales, that led to a reduction of reflected photons and, as a consequence, an increase in the creation of free carriers.