Porous Graphene–Fullerene Nanocomposites: A New Composite for Solar Cell and Optoelectronic Applications

By using a state-of-the-art
theoretical method, we have investigated
the electronic structure of a new class of nanocomposites, namely,
porous graphene (PG)–fullerene (PG–fullerene) composite.
We have utilized the porosity of PG to encapsulate the fullerene molecule
into it and have investigated the efficacy of the PG–fullerene
composite in solar cell and optoelectronic applications. Our study
reveals that smaller sized composites show type-II band alignment,
suggesting efficient charge separation upon photoexcitation. Hence,
these composites may be utilized for designing solar cells. However,
larger composites show type-I band alignment, thereby limiting their
applications in solar cell. We further propose graphene antidot–fullerene
composites with same pore structure as that of PG, which show type-II
band alignment even for larger antidots. Qualitative analysis reveals
that the electron injection rate as well as charge separation capability
of antidot composites is larger than that of the PG composites. Hence,
we can suggest that antidot composites are a better candidate for
photovoltaic applications. We have also calculated the optical properties
of PG–C60 composite systems and explore its applicability
in designing optoelectronic devices.