Fabrication of solar cells from polymer composite (3-Hexylthiophene-co-Thiophene) with Ag nanoparticles and study of electrical properties and efficiency

This study aims to prepare nano-polymer materials that contribute to improving the electrical properties and improving the properties and efficiency of solar cells. Also, the prepared materials are inexpensive compared to solar cells prepared from inorganic materials such as silicon and germanium. This study deals with the effect of a polymer layer containing pure polymer of 3-Hexylthiophene and Thiophenein combination with silver nanoparticles on the electrical properties relevant to solar cell applications. The polymer of 3-Hexylthiophene and Thiophene was prepared individually, then a polymer composite (3-Hexylthiophene-co-Thiophene) was made. after that then a Core-Shell of (3-hexylthiophene - CO-Thiophene) @ Ag Nanoparticles was made, after which two-layer and three-layer solar cells were made from the prepared samples. The polymers were manufactured using the additive polymerization method using chloroform (CHCl3) solvent and were subsequently characterized. The research focused on the electrical properties of the pure polymer (P3HT@Thio) doped with silver nanoparticles and its efficiency, with special attention to its application in solar cells. We found the best results in the two-layer structure. Current-voltage (I-V) measurements were conducted under illumination at room temperature with varying incident light intensities over a small area. Key parameters such as electrical conductivity, activation energy, open-circuit voltage (Voc), short-circuit current density (Jsc), maximum power point parameters (JP, VP), fill factor (FF), and power conversion efficiency (η) were calculated for all samples under standard laboratory conditions. The results demonstrate that the highest electrical conductivity (2.39x10⁻³ s.cm⁻¹) was achieved with the polymer blend of 70% P3HT-CO-30% PTH doped with 25% silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). The activation energy, ranging from 0.1448 eV to 0.8537 eV, showed the lowest value at the same polymer blend, likely due to the proximity of the conduction and valence band levels induced by nanoparticle doping. Additionally, the efficiency of the solar cells was assessed, revealing significant improvements in device performance. The optimal efficiency, measured at 10.488%, was observed in the (PEDOT)/ (PCPM+Active Layer) structure. All relevant parameters, including Jsc, Voc, FF, and power conversion efficiency (PCE).