The electric field enhancements by single-walled carbon nanotubes in In2S3/In2O3 photoelectrochemical solar cells

Abstract

Using reverse-field emission (FE) current measurements, we demonstrate enhancement of the electric field by single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in In2S3/In2O3 photoelectrochemical solar cells (PECs). In reverse-FE measurements, anode and cathode consists of In2S3/In2O3/(with or without) SWNTs on indium-doped tin oxide substrate and microtexturized tip silicon, respectively. The enhanced FE results for In2S3/In2O3/SWNTs show an electric field approximately two times more than In2S3/In2O3. The beta value (i.e., electric field enhancement factor) of In2S3/In2O3 PECs with SWNT layers is 4950, which is similar to 35.2% higher than that of In2S3/In2O3 PECs without SWNTs (3660). In PECs, the enhanced electric field intensifies the power of electron transfer, which accelerates the electron transfer rate in the cell.