Highly sensitive, self-powered photodetector based on reduced graphene oxide- polyvinyl pyrrolidone fibers (Fs)/p-Si heterojunction

•An RGO-PVP fibers (Fs)/p-Si device was fabricated by electrospinning of the fibers on p-Si.•The FESEM image of RGO sheets, the XRD analyses, the FTIR spectra and the TGA curves of GO and RGO were carried out.•The I-V measurements for various light intensities were performed and investigated in detail.•The device showed good of rectification ratio of 1121 (at±1 V) for dark•The ON/OFF ratio of increases from 3.9 × 105 (10 mW/cm2) to 1.5 × 106 (30 mW/cm2) at self-powered mode. A reduced graphene oxide- the polyvinyl pyrrolidone (RGO-PVP) fibers (Fs)/p-Si photodetector having photoconductive mode was fabricated by electrospinning of the fibers on p-Si. The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) image of RGO sheets, the X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analyses, the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, and the Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) curves of graphene oxide (GO) and RGO were carried out. In addition to the current-voltage (I-V) and frequency-dependent capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements of the device in the dark, the I-V measurements for various light intensities were performed and investigated in detail. The device showed a good rectification ratio of 1121 (at±1 V) for dark as well as self-powering characteristics and the ON/OFF ratio of increases from 3.9 × 105 (10 mW/cm2) to 1.5 × 106 (30 mW/cm2) at self-powered mode under light illumination. It was observed that the reverse bias current of the device increased approximately 3 orders under 10 mW/cm2 light intensity with respect to the dark one and the RGO-PVP Fs/p-Si device could be a potential device for optoelectronic applications. It was found from the responsivity, ON/OFF ratio, and the detectivity that the device is highly sensitive to light and could be an important design for optical applications such as photodetectors.