Nanostructured nanorod arrays presenting TiO2 nanorods/poly(3-hexylthiophene) for solar cells application.

We have fabricated inverted heterojunction solar cell devices incorporating titanium dioxide nanorod/poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) rod arrays using melt-assisted anodic alumina oxide template. Using transmission electron microscopy and conductance atomic force microscopy, we revealed that phase-separated TiO2 rich (n-type) and P3HT rich (p-type) regions presents in these rod arrays. The optimized composite rod array structure had a higher hole mobility than that of the blend film consisting of TiO2 nanorod and P3HT as determined by fitting the dark J-V curves into the space charge-limited current model. The more efficient carrier transport of the device incorporating the nanorod arrays provided it with both a higher short-circuit current density and power conversion efficiency.