Plasmonic-enhanced polymer solar cells incorporating solution-processable Au nanoparticle-adhered graphene oxide

The effect of gold nanoparticle (NP)-induced surface plasmons on the performance of polymer solar cells (PSCs) is investigated by blending the solution processable Au NP-adhered graphene oxide (Au-GO) into the anodic buffer layer of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). The incorporation of Au-GOs provides a simple method to introduce a plasmonic effect, which is helpful to avoid aggregation of Au NPs blended in PEDOT:PSS. The addition of Au-GOs increased the light absorption and exciton generation rate in the active layer, thereby enhancing the short-circuit current and power conversion efficiency of these PSCs. According to the experimental and simulated results, the improvement in device performance can be ascribed to the near-field enhancement arising from the excitation of the localized surface plasmon resonance of Au-GOs along the active layer/PEDOT:PSS interface. Our work indicates the great potential of Au-GOs for high-efficiency plasmonic-enhanced PSC applications.