Activated-TiO2 Using UV Irradiation for Effective Core-shell Structured PAni-TiO2 Active Layer and Efficiency Assessment of Organic Solar Cells

The UV irradiation method has been used to activate titanium dioxide nanoparticles in order to improve the performance of organic solar cells by improving the properties of the photoactivated nanocomposite layer (TiO2 NPs). Polymer solar cells were created using an FTO/(PAni-TiO2)/Ag system. PAni-TiO2 nanocomposite films were formed using a series of mixed polyaniline (PAni) with 20% activated TiO2 NPs at different processing times. PAni-TiO2 films' structural evolution, surface characteristics, optical and electrical properties have all been studied. The UV treatment of TiO2 NPs increased the crystallite from 18.35 to 24.1 nm and the degree of crystallinity by 5.6 percent, according to XRD patterns. When compared to the untreated PAni-TiO2 films, the irradiated ones had a rougher and more porous surface. Furthermore, the adhesion force and electrical conductivity of the treated nanocomposite films improved to 137 mN/m and 6.62 S/m, respectively, after 8 hours. The incorporation of activated TiO2 NPs exposed to UV for varying times ranging from 0 to 8 hours with the PAni matrix increased the current density (Jsc) of PAni-TiO2 based nanocomposite solar cells from 3.11 to 4.83 (mA/cm2) and their efficiency from 0.33 to 0.85 percent. The rise in solar cell efficiency is primarily attributed to a structural change accompanied by a quick increase in surface roughness, which resulted in a decline in reflected photons and, as a result, an increase in charge carriers produced. These findings revealed that surface UV irradiation of TiO2 NPs had an effect on their structural properties as well as the electronic contact between PAni and TiO2 NPs, that also strongly influenced the quantity of carrier transport within the PAni-TiO2 composites.