Solubilization of carbon nanotubes with ethylene-vinyl acetate for solution-processed conductive films and charge extraction layers in perovskite solar cells

Journal article

Carbon nanotube (CNT) solubilization via non-covalent wrapping of conjugated semiconducting polymers is a common technique used to produce stable dispersions for depositing CNTs from solution. Here, we report the use of a non-conjugated insulating polymer, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), to disperse multi- and single-walled CNTs (MWCNT and SWCNT) in organic solvents. We demonstrate that despite the insulating nature of the EVA, we can produce semitransparent films with conductivities of up to 34 S/cm. We show, using photoluminescence spectroscopy, that the EVA strongly binds to individual CNTs, thus making them soluble, preventing aggregation, and facilitating the deposition of high-quality films. To prove the good electronic properties of this composite, we have fabricated perovskite solar cells using EVA/SWCNTs and EVA/MWCNTs as selective hole contact, obtaining power conversion efficiencies of up to 17.1%, demonstrating that the insulating polymer does not prevent the charge transfer from the active material to the CNTs.

Authors: Mazzotta, G; Dollmann, M; Habisreutinger, SN; Christoforo, MG; Wang, Z

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• Journal: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1185–1191
• Publication date: 2018-12-17
• Acceptance date: 2018-11-30
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b15396
• EISSN: 1944-8252
• ISSN: 1944-8244
• Language: English
• Keywords: CNT polymer functionalization; conductive films; carbon nanotubes
• Subjects: perovskite solar cells; insulating polymer