A High-Efficiency Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Using PCDTBT:PCBM as Solid Electrolyte and Graphene Oxide as Hole Transport Layer

In this work, a novel p-graphene/GrO IPCDTBT:PCBM/dye/AI based dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has been designed, implemented, and investigated using Silvaco TCAD software. The proposed cell uses PCDTBT:PCBM as the solid electrolyte (ss-electrolyte) in place of commonly used P3HT to ensure higher efficiency. As a front electrode, the p-graphene is used instead of conventional ITO/FTO to reduce the cost. The graphene oxide (GrO) is used as a hole transport layer (HTL) instead of widely-used PEDOT:PSS to enhance the stability of the cell. Layer thicknesses of the ss-electrolyte and HTLs are optimized for maximum efficiency. An appropriate ARC is employed to further enhance the efficiency. The investigated cell, after all these enhancement techniques, attains an efficiency of 13.38%.