cm5b01591_si_001.pdf (1.72 MB)
Plasmonic Transition via Interparticle Coupling of Au@Ag Core–Shell Nanostructures Sheathed in Double Hydrophilic Block Copolymer for High-Performance Polymer Solar Cell
journal contribution
posted on 2015-07-14, 00:00 authored by Eunyong Seo, Seo-Jin Ko, Sa Hoon Min, Jin Young Kim, Byeong-Su KimWe
herein report a facile synthetic method for the preparation
of gold-core, silver-shell nanoparticles (Au@Ag NPs) with tunable
surface plasmon resonance (SPR) using the double hydrophilic block
copolymer (DHBC), poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(acrylic
acid) (PEO-b-PAA), as a template (Au@Ag@DHBC NPs),
and the utilization of their unique optical properties in polymer
solar cells (PSCs). It is demonstrated that two different functionalities
of DHBC facilitate the formation of the respective Au-core and Ag-shell
NPs. Interestingly, the isolated core–shell NPs in solution
are found to be transformed into coupled NPs that ultimately exhibit
the transition of intrinsic plasmonic properties to a wide range in
the visible spectrum. Furthermore, plasmonic Au@Ag@DHBC NPs are effectively
integrated into the active layer of PSCs, which remarkably enhance
the power conversion efficiency (PCE) up to 9.0% (16% enhancement)
because of the strong plasmonic effect of the coupled NPs and the
thin polymeric layer surrounding the NPs. This study suggests the
widespread potential application of DHBCs as a template for the synthesis
of novel core–shell nanostructures. We anticipate that this
approach will provide new means for creating a variety of plasmonic
nanomaterials in various fields of optoelectronic devices.