title: Acoustic enhancement of polymer/ZnO nanorod photovoltaic device performance.
abstract: Acoustic vibrations are shown to enhance the photovoltaic efficiency of a P3HT/ZnO nanorod solar cell by up to 45%, correlated to a three-fold increase in charge carrier lifetime. This is assigned to the generation of piezoelectric dipoles in the ZnO nanorods, indicating that the efficiency of solar cells may be enhanced in the presence of ambient vibrations by the use of piezoelectric materials.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Plastic Electronics, Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Safa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shoaee
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Briscoe
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Durrant
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dunn
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry*; D012993:Solar Energy; D013876:Thiophenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D013876:Thiophenes; C507295:poly(3-hexylthiophene); D015034:Zinc Oxide
keywords: P3HT; hybrid; piezoelectric; solar cell; zinc oxide