Electrical and thermal properties of a carbon nanotube/polycrystalline BiFeO3/Pt photovoltaic heterojunction with CdSe quantum dots sensitization.

Electrical and thermal properties of a carbon nanotube (CNT)/multiferroic BiFeO(3) (BFO)/Pt photovoltaic heterojunction are investigated for the first time. Enhanced photovoltaic properties (J(sc)≈ 2.1 μA cm(-2) and V(oc)≈ 0.47 V), as compared to the traditional polycrystalline BFO with indium tin oxide (ITO) as the top electrode, are observed due to the unique properties of CNT. An equivalent electrical and thermal model is constructed based on the energy band diagram of the CNT/BFO/Pt heterojunction for the first time and the carriers' transportation behavior is depicted theoretically. The influence of CdSe quantum dots (QDs) sensitization on the photovoltaic properties is presented, and a clear improvement of ~4 fold in photocurrent density is observed. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012