Optimization of electrical and photovoltaic properties of Au-BiFeO<sub>3</sub> nanocomposite films

Zhang Ya-Ju; Xie Zhong-Shuai; Zheng Hai-Wu; Yuan Guo-Liang

doi:10.7498/aps.69.20200309

Abstract

Ferroelectric films, are an important class of photoelectric functional material, which possess the following characteristics: the breaking of their symmetry can lead to self-polarization and this polarization state can be regulated by external stimuli. The photovoltaic properties of ferroelectric films have been extensively investigated due to their potential applications in the field of photodetection, energy conversion harvesting and nonvolatile storage. In view of the small photocurrent density and the degradation of photovoltaic property caused by the depolarization effect in ferroelectric films, it is necessary to explore an approach to improving the self-polarization phenomenon and regulating the conduction mechanism to further optimize their photovoltaic properties. Here in this work, BiFeO₃ (BFO) films dispersed with Au nanoparticles are deposited on FTO glass substrates by the sol-gel method to obtain the Au-BFO nanocomposite films. Moreover, the relationships between Au content (0 mol%, 0.25 mol%, 0.5 mol%, 1 mol% and 3 mol%) and microstructure, electrical and photovoltaic properties of Au-BFO nanocomposite films are investigated to determine the optimal Au content. Piezoresponse force microscopy studies show that the Au-BFO nanocomposite film with 0.5 mol% Au has the strong self-polarization phenomenon. With the increase of Au content, the conduction mechanism of the Au-BFO nanocomposite films is described by the space-charge limited current theory but not the Schottky emission model any more. The photovoltaic properties of the Au-BFO nanocomposite films first increase and then decrease. When Au content is 0.5 mol%, the Au-BFO nanocomposite film has the best photovoltaic property. The open-circuit voltage and short-circuit photocurrent density of the Au-BFO nanocomposite film with 0.5 mol% Au increase nearly 3 and 5 times counterparts of the BFO film, respectively. The photovoltaic effects of Au-BFO nanocomposite films are improved mainly by regulating the self-polarization phenomenon and conduction mechanism. This study demonstrates the merits of BFO films dispersed with Au nanoparticles, specifically, the photovoltaic properties of Au-BFO nanocomposite films are further optimized. In this work, we propose a simple and effective method to regulate the electrical and photovoltaic properties of ferroelectric films, which provides a new perspective for further understanding the photovoltaic effects of ferroelectric films.

Keywords:

Authors and contacts

1.
National Demonstration Center for Experimental Physics and Electronics Education, School of Physics and Electronics, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
2.
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China

Corresponding author: Zheng Hai-Wu, zhenghaiw@ustc.edu

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References

[1]	蔡田怡, 雎胜 2018 物理学报 67 157801 Google Scholar Cai T Y, Ju S 2018 Acta Phys. Sin. 67 157801 Google Scholar
[2]	Li D, Zheng D X, Jin C, Li P, Liu X J, Zheng W C, Bai H L 2018 Adv. Electron. Mater. 4 1800171 Google Scholar
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Cited By

图 1 Au-BFO纳米复合薄膜的 (a) 示意图和(b) XRD图谱

Figure 1. (a) Schematic diagram and (b) XRD patterns of the Au-BFO nanocomposite films.

DownLoad: Full-Size Img PowerPoint

图 2 Au含量为0.5 mol%的Au-BFO纳米复合薄膜中 (a) Au 4f, (b) Bi 4f, (c) Fe 2p和(d) O 1s的XPS芯能级谱

Figure 2. XPS core level spectra of (a) Au 4f, (b) Bi 4f, (c) Fe 2p, (d) O 1s for the Au-BFO nanocomposite films with 0.5 mol% Au.

DownLoad: Full-Size Img PowerPoint

图 3 Au-BFO纳米复合薄膜表面的SEM图像, 其中Au含量为 (a) 0, (b) 0.25 mol%, (c) 0.5 mol%, (d) 1 mol%, (e) 3 mol%; (f) 晶粒尺寸随Au含量的变化

Figure 3. Surface SEM images of the Au-BFO nanocomposite films with (a) 0, (b) 0.25 mol%, (c) 0.5 mol%, (d) 1 mol%, (e) 3 mol% Au; (f) the variation of grain size with Au content.

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图 4 Au-BFO纳米复合薄膜的(a) UV-vis吸收光谱和(b) (αhν)²与hν的关系曲线(Au含量为0, 0.25 mol%, 0.5 mol%, 1 mol%和3 mol%)

Figure 4. (a) UV-vis absorption spectra and (b) plot of (αhν)² as a function of hν for the Au-BFO nanocomposite films with 0, 0.25 mol%, 0.5 mol%, 1 mol%, and 3 mol% Au.

DownLoad: Full-Size Img PowerPoint

图 5 Au-BFO纳米复合薄膜的面外PFM相位图像, 其中Au含量为 (a) 0 mol%, (b) 0.25 mol%, (c) 0.5 mol%, (d) 1 mol%, (e) 3 mol%; (f) 向上的自极化P_up所占比例随Au含量的变化

Figure 5. Out-of-plane PFM phase images of the Au-BFO nanocomposite films with (a) 0 mol%, (b) 0.25 mol%, (c) 0.5 mol%, (d) 1 mol%, (e) 3 mol%; (f) the variation of the ratio of P_up with Au content.

DownLoad: Full-Size Img PowerPoint

图 6 Au-BFO纳米复合薄膜在 (a) 暗态下的电流密度-电压(J-V)曲线; (b) 正电压段和(c) 负向电压段的lnJ-V^1/2和lnJ-lnV曲线分别符合肖特基发射和空间电荷限制电流机制

Figure 6. Current density vs. voltage (J-V) characteristics of the Au-BFO nanocomposite films (a) in dark; lnJ vs. V^1/2 curves fitted using the Schottky emission and lnJ vs. lnV curves fitted using space-charge limited current for the (b) positive and (c) negative branches.

DownLoad: Full-Size Img PowerPoint

图 7 Au-BFO纳米复合薄膜的 (a) 光电流密度-电压(J-V)曲线(Au含量为0, 0.25 mol%, 0.5 mol%, 1 mol%和3 mol%)和(b) 开路电压和短路电流密度随Au含量的变化

Figure 7. (a) Photovoltaic (J-V) curves of the Au-BFO nanocomposite films with 0, 0.25 mol%, 0.5 mol%, 1 mol%, and 3 mol% Au, and (b) variation of open-circuit voltages and short-circuit photocurrent densities with Au content.

DownLoad: Full-Size Img PowerPoint

图 8 Au-BFO纳米复合薄膜(Au含量为0, 0.25 mol%, 0.5 mol%, 1 mol%和3 mol%)的光电流密度-时间(J-T)曲线

Figure 8. Time-dependence of photocurrent density (J-T) curves of the Au-BFO nanocomposite films with 0, 0.25 mol%, 0.5 mol%, 1 mol%, and 3 mol% Au under the short-circuit condition.

DownLoad: Full-Size Img PowerPoint

[1]	蔡田怡, 雎胜 2018 物理学报 67 157801 Google Scholar Cai T Y, Ju S 2018 Acta Phys. Sin. 67 157801 Google Scholar
[2]	Li D, Zheng D X, Jin C, Li P, Liu X J, Zheng W C, Bai H L 2018 Adv. Electron. Mater. 4 1800171 Google Scholar
[3]	Guo R, You L, Zhou Y, Lim Z S, Zou X, Chen L, Ramesh R, Wang J 2013 Nat. Commun. 4 1990 Google Scholar
[4]	Wu J, Fan Z, Xiao D, Zhu J, Wang J 2016 Prog. Mater. Sci. 84 335 Google Scholar
[5]	朱立峰, 潘文远, 谢燕, 张波萍, 尹阳, 赵高磊 2019 物理学报 68 217701 Google Scholar Zhu L F, Pan W Y, Xie Y, Zhang B P, Yin Y, Zhao G L 2019 Acta Phys. Sin. 68 217701 Google Scholar
[6]	Wu J 2018 Advances in Lead-Free Piezoelectric Materials (New York: Springer) pp301–378
[7]	Wang L, Jin K J, Ge C, Wang C, Guo H Z, Lu H B, Yang G Z 2013 Appl. Phys. Lett. 102 252907 Google Scholar
[8]	Kamala Bharathi K, Lee W M, Ho Sung J, Soo Lim J, Jin Kim S, Chu K, Won Park J, Hyun Song J, Jo M H, Yang C H 2013 Appl. Phys. Lett. 102 012908 Google Scholar
[9]	Bai Y, Wang Z J, He B, Cui J Z, Zhang Z D 2017 ACS Omega 2 9067 Google Scholar
[10]	Zhang W, Yang M M, Liang X, Zheng H W, Wang Y, Gao W X, Yuan G L, Zhang W F, Li X G, Luo H S, Zheng R K 2015 Nano Energy 18 315 Google Scholar
[11]	Zhang Y, Zheng H, Wang X, Li H, Wu Y, Zhang Y, Su H, Yuan G 2020 Ceram. Int. 46 10083 Google Scholar
[12]	Swain A B, Rath M, Pal S, Ramachandra Rao M S, Subramanian V, Murugavel P 2018 Appl. Phys. Lett. 113 233902 Google Scholar
[13]	Xie Z, Yang Y, Fang L, Wang Y, Ding X, Yuan G, Liu J M 2019 App. Phys. Lett. 115 112902 Google Scholar
[14]	Wang Y, Nan C W 2006 Appl. Phys. Lett. 89 052903 Google Scholar
[15]	Wang H L, Ning X K, Wang Z J 2015 RSC Adv. 5 76783 Google Scholar
[16]	Wang Z, Hu T, Tang L, Ma N, Song C, Han G, Weng W, Du P 2008 Appl. Phys. Lett. 93 222901 Google Scholar
[17]	Li Y Z, Wang Z J, Bai Y, Liu W, Zhang Z D 2019 J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 102 5253 Google Scholar
[18]	Zhang P, Wang T, Gong J 2015 Adv. Mater. 27 5328 Google Scholar
[19]	Maruyama R, Sakamoto W, Yuitoo I, Takeuchi T, Hayashi K, Yogo T 2016 Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 55 10TA14 Google Scholar
[20]	Almusallam A, Luo Z, Komolafe A, Yang K, Robinson A, Torah R, Beeby S 2017 Nano Energy 33 146 Google Scholar
[21]	Yang X, Su X, Shen M, Zheng F, Xin Y, Zhang L, Hua M, Chen Y, Harris V G 2012 Adv. Mater. 24 1202 Google Scholar
[22]	Li F Z, Zheng H W, Zhu M S, Zhang X A, Yuan G L, Xie Z S, Li X H, Yue G T, Zhang W F 2017 J. Mater. Chem. C 5 10615 Google Scholar
[23]	Eerenstein W, Morrison F D, Dho J, Blamire M G, Scott J F, Mathur N D 2005 Science 307 1203a Google Scholar
[24]	Fang L, Liu J, Ju S, Zheng F, Dong W, Shen M 2010 Appl. Phys. Lett. 97 242501 Google Scholar
[25]	Zhao Z, Buscaglia V, Viviani M, Buscaglia M T, Mitoseriu L, Testino A, Nygren M, Johnsson M, Nanni P 2004 Phys. Rev. B 70 024107 Google Scholar
[26]	Tsutsumi N, Kosugi R, Kinashi K, Sakai W 2016 ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 8 16816 Google Scholar
[27]	Paik H, Choi Y Y, Hong S, No K 2015 Sci. Rep. 5 13209 Google Scholar
[28]	Cheng C W, Tseng Y C, Wu T B, Chou L J 2004 J. Mater. Res. 19 1043 Google Scholar
[29]	Kim Y, Cho Y, Hong S, Bühlmann S, Park H, Min D K, Kim S H, No K 2006 Appl. Phys. Lett. 89 172909 Google Scholar
[30]	Sun W, Zhou Z, Luo J, Wang K, Li J F 2017 J. Appl. Phys. 121 064101 Google Scholar
[31]	He B, Wang Z 2016 ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 8 6736 Google Scholar
[32]	Yang T, Wei J, Guo Y, Lv Z, Xu Z, Cheng Z 2019 ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 11 23372 Google Scholar

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Optimization of electrical and photovoltaic properties of Au-BiFeO₃ nanocomposite films

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Corresponding author: Zheng Hai-Wu, zhenghaiw@ustc.edu

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Optimization of electrical and photovoltaic properties of Au-BiFeO3 nanocomposite films

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Corresponding author: Zheng Hai-Wu, zhenghaiw@ustc.edu

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Optimization of electrical and photovoltaic properties of Au-BiFeO₃ nanocomposite films