Hybrids of Polymers and Fluorinated Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes as a Morphology-Modifying Additive for Organic Solar Cells

In the production of organic solar cells, carbon nanotubes serve as an additive, improving their performance, typically due to increased effective charge mobility in the active layer. However, the presence of metallic carbon nanotubes in the composition, causing active layer shunting and acting as a hole-electron recombination center, presents a challenge when carbon nanotubes are introduced into the active layer. We report the functionalization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) which partly converts their metallic behavior into semiconductor one. It is confirmed that nanohybrids consisting of fluorinated carbon nanotubes and isolated or semiconductor polymers can be potentially used to fine- tune the the active layer morphology in the organic solar cell.