An effective method for preparing poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) coated graphene oxide (GO), (P-GO), based on an ethanol mediated mixing and solvent evaporation method is described. P-GO exhibits good dispersibility in the non-polar solvent o-dichlorobenzene (DCB) allowing the preparation of polymer blend composites. P-GO was doped into P3HT: PCBM blends by solution mixing and shown to facilitate phase separation of P3HT and PCBM in P3HT: PCBM blend films to achieve a more optimum morphology for polymer photovoltaic cells. Bulk heterojunction P3HT: PCBM solar cells exhibit similar to 18% power conversion efficiency enhancement in the presence of P-GO. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
