Optical and electronic properties of MgPc-Ch-diisoQ blend organic thin film as an active layer for photovoltaic cells

PLoS One. 2024 Apr 17;19(4):e0299079. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299079. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Organic photovoltaic cells are a promising technology for generating renewable energy from sunlight. These cells are made from organic materials, such as polymers or small molecules, and can be lightweight, flexible, and low-cost. Here, we have created a novel mixture of magnesium phthalocyanine (MgPc) and chlorophenyl ethyl diisoquinoline (Ch-diisoQ). A coating unit has been utilized in preparing MgPc, Ch-diisoQ, and MgPc-Ch-diisoQ films onto to FTO substrate. The MgPc-Ch-diisoQ film has a spherical and homogeneous surface morphology with a grain size of 15.9 nm. The optical absorption of the MgPc-Ch-diisoQ film was measured, and three distinct bands were observed at 800-600 nm, 600-400 nm, and 400-250 nm, with a band gap energy of 1.58 eV. The current density-voltage and capacitance-voltage measurements were performed to analyze the photoelectric properties of the three tested cells. The forward current density obtained from our investigated blend cell is more significant than that for each material by about 22%. The photovoltaic parameters (Voc, Isc, and FF) of the MgPc-Ch-diisoQ cell were found to be 0.45 V, 2.12 μA, and 0.4, respectively. We believe that our investigated MgPc-Ch-diisoQ film will be a promising active layer in organic solar cells.

MeSH terms

  • Edible Grain*
  • Electric Capacitance
  • Electronics
  • Indoles
  • Isoindoles*
  • Magnesium*

Substances

  • Magnesium
  • phthalocyanine
  • Indoles
  • Isoindoles

Grants and funding

Deanship of Scientific Research at the University of Tabuk for funding this work through Research No. S-1443-0056. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.