Photovoltaic textile structure using polyaniline/carbon nanotube composite materials

In this paper, an investigation of flexible electrodes for photovoltaic textile structures utilizing polymer-based organic materials is presented. The composite structure consisting of a blend of water dispersible carbon nanotube: polyaniline (CNT:PANI) components with poly(3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) was applied to be used as the hole collecting electrode in photovoltaic textile applications. Both photovoltaic textiles and conventional solar cells were fabricated by using a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT):(6,6)-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). All devices were characterized by measuring current versus voltage characteristics under AM 1.5 conditions. The nanoscale morphology of the photovoltaic structures was investigated using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy.