Synthesis and photovoltaic property of poly(3-octylthiophene)/titanium dioxide/ferric oxide composite

摘要

Titanium dioxide and ferric oxide were prepared by the supercritical fluid drying (SCFD) method. A conducting polymer composite, poly(3-octylthiophene)/titanium dioxide/ferric oxide (POT/TiO_2/Fe_2O_3) was first synthesized by chemical method. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) depicted the morphology of the samples, defining that TiO_2 and Fe_2O_3 were successfully coated by poly(3-octylthiophene) molecules. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and infrared spectroscopy (1R) showed the chemical interaction between poly(3-octylthiophene) and inorganic compounds in the composite. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) curves showed that the forbidden band gap of the POT/TiO_2/Fe_2O_3 composite is 0.691 eV, realizing the complementary advantages of n and p semiconductor. UV-vis spectra (UV) and fluorescence spectra (PL) showed that its optical performance is far superior to poly(3-octyl thiophene), titanium dioxide and ferric oxide separately. Solar cell was sensitized by POT/TiO_2/Fe_2O_3. A solar-to-electric energy conversion efficiency of 0.499% was attained with the system.