Improving the light trapping efficiency of plasmonic polymer solar cells through photon management

In this study, we have explored how light trapping efficiency can be enhanced by using gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) of various sizes and shapes on the front of polymer solar cells (PSCs) with the active layer-blends of poly(3-hexyl thiophene) and [6,6]-phenyl-C ₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester. The light-concentrating behavior was enhanced after we had incorporated gold nanospheres or nanorods into the anodic buffer layer [based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate] to trigger various localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) bands. Comparison of the optical characteristics and the performance of the PSCs prepared with and without Au NPs, and we found that the UV-vis and wavelength-dependent photoluminescent spectral data corroborated with the device performance due to the photon management by considering the light scattering and LSPR effects at the active layer. The presence of Au NPs increased the power conversion efficiency to approximately 4.3% (an enhancement of 24%).