NREL: Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Solar Energy Harvesting

National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 

Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) represent a tunable model one-dimensional system with exceptional optical and electronic properties. 

High-throughput separation and purification strategies have enabled the integration of s-SWCNTs into a number of optoelectronic applications, including photovoltaics (PVs). In this Perspective, we discuss the fundamental underpinnings of two model PV interfaces involving s-SWCNTs. 

We first discuss s-SWCNT–fullerene heterojunctions where exciton dissociation at the donor–acceptor interface drives solar energy conversion. Next, we discuss charge extraction at the interface between s-SWCNTs and a photoexcited perovskite active layer. 

In each case, the use of highly enriched semiconducting SWCNT samples enables fundamental insights into the thermodynamic and kinetic mechanisms that drive the efficient conversion of solar photons into long-lived separated charges. 

These model systems help to establish design rules for next-generation PV devices containing well-defined organic semiconductor layers and help to frame a number of important outstanding questions that can guide future studies.