Air Stable, Photosensitive, Phase Pure Iron Pyrite Nanocrystal Thin Films for Photovoltaic Application

Iron pyrite (FeS2) is a naturally abundant and nontoxic photovoltaic material that can potentially make devices as efficient as silicon-based ones; however existing iron pyrite photovoltaic devices contain thermodynamically unstable FeS2 film surfaces that lead to low open circuit voltages. We repor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nano letters Vol. 11; no. 11; pp. 4953 - 4957
Main Authors: Bi, Yu, Yuan, Yongbo, Exstrom, Christopher L, Darveau, Scott A, Huang, Jinsong
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 09.11.2011
Subjects:
Air
Applied sciences
Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology
Crystallization - methods
Decomposition
Devices
Electric Conductivity
Electronics
Exact sciences and technology
Iron
Iron - chemistry
Iron - radiation effects
Light
Materials
Materials science
Materials Testing
Membranes, Artificial
Molecular electronics, nanoelectronics
Nanocrystalline materials
Nanocrystals
Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization
Nanoscale materials: clusters, nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanocrystals
Nanostructure
Nanostructures - chemistry
Nanostructures - radiation effects
Open circuit voltage
Photovoltaic cells
Physics
Pyrite
Radiation Dosage
Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices
Solar cells
Structure of solids and liquids; crystallography
Sulfides - chemistry
Sulfides - radiation effects
Thin films
photoconductive
iron pyrite
Nanocrystals
photovoltaic
Cubic lattices
Iron
Iron sulfide
Photovoltaic cell
Thin films
Pyrite
Silicon
Carrier mobility
Photoconductivity
Sulfur
Nanostructured materials
TOPO
Nanocrystal
ISSN:1530-6984, 1530-6992, 1530-6992
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Iron pyrite (FeS2) is a naturally abundant and nontoxic photovoltaic material that can potentially make devices as efficient as silicon-based ones; however existing iron pyrite photovoltaic devices contain thermodynamically unstable FeS2 film surfaces that lead to low open circuit voltages. We report the rational synthesis of phase pure, highly crystalline cubic FeS2 nanocrystals (NCs) using a trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) assisted hot-injection method. The synthesized pyrite NC films have excellent air stability over one year. In contrast, obvious surface decomposition was observed on the surface of FeS2 NCs synthesized without TOPO. A high carrier mobility of 80 cm2/(V s) and a strong photoconductivity were observed for the first time for pyrite films at room temperature. Our results indicate that TOPO passivates both iron and sulfur atoms on FeS2 NC surfaces, efficiently inhibiting surface decomposition.
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ISSN:1530-6984
1530-6992
1530-6992
DOI:10.1021/nl202902z