Efficiency Improvement Using Molybdenum Disulphide Interlayers in Single-Wall Carbon Nanotube/Silicon Solar Cells

Molybdenum disulphide (MoS(2)) is one of the most studied and widely applied nanomaterials from the layered transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) semiconductor family. MoS(2) has a large carrier diffusion length and a high carrier mobility. Combining a layered structure of single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and MoS(2) with n-type silicon (n-Si) provided novel SWCNT/n-Si photovoltaic devices. The solar cell has a layered structure with Si covered first by a thin layer of MoS(2) flakes and then a SWCNT film. The films were examined using scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The MoS(2) flake thickness ranged from 5 to 90 nm while the nanosheet’s lateral dimensions size ranged up to 1 μm(2). This insertion of MoS(2) improved the photoconversion efficiency (PCE) of the SWCNT/n-Si solar cells by approximately a factor of 2.