Semiconducting biomass-based amorphous carbon films and their potential application in photovoltaic devices

Amorphous carbon ( aC ) is highly appealing because of its unique structure, electrical and optical properties , making it appropriate for various applications, especially in energy conversion. This work presents a comprehensive study on the synthesis of aC materials, including both intrinsic (i-type) and doped conditions (p- and n-type), to enhance the performance of photovoltaic films. Carbon materials are derived from biomass using a straightforward and environmentally conscious technique. The obtained carbon compound demonstrates an amorphous state with a substantial prevalence of the sp 2 C=C component. Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy confirmed the stacking of 2D layers forming a multilayer graphene structure. The carbon compound prepared AC films deposited onto a quartz glass surface via spray coating. The films have a thickness ranging from 247 to 478 nm. The dielectric constants of the optical parameters reveal resonant exciton features at a photon energy of ∼3.8 eV, whereas the real component exhibits semiconductive properties. The refractive indices of the p-, i-, and n-layers, which have gap energies in decreasing order, demonstrate a decline. The optical conductivity of aC is higher than that of amorphous silicon , specifically 0.54 × 10 3 Ω −1 cm −1 , 0.48 × 10 3 Ω −1 cm −1 , and 0.53 × 10 3 Ω −1 cm −1 for the p-, i-, and n-type films, respectively. Based on this outcome, it is reasonable to suggest that the recently developed material is potentially important as a photovoltaic device.