Researchers at ICFO have launched a post-deposition in situ passivation approach designed to reduce floor defects in eco-friendly, solution-processed nanocrystal ultrathin photo voltaic cells. This modern method has achieved the very best recorded energy conversion effectivity for the sort of photo voltaic cell so far.
With local weather change intensifying, renewable vitality sources have gained momentum, with photo voltaic cells on the forefront of this transition. In 2023, as an illustration, Spain’s put in photo voltaic photovoltaic energy elevated by 28 % in comparison with the earlier 12 months, making up 20.3 % of the nation’s vitality combine—a development equally mirrored throughout Western nations.
Regardless of the environmental advantages of photo voltaic cells, they usually depend on supplies that aren’t absolutely sustainable.
Increasing photo voltaic vitality use past conventional photo voltaic farms to energy buildings, infrastructure, IoT programs, and even autos is more and more seen as the way forward for renewable vitality. Attaining this imaginative and prescient requires photo voltaic cell know-how that’s light-weight, cost-effective, versatile, and eco-friendly. In response, the scientific group is specializing in sustainable alternate options that not solely keep or improve vitality era effectivity but additionally decrease manufacturing prices and simplify the manufacturing processes of current photo voltaic applied sciences.
Colloidal silver bismuth sulfide (AgBiS2) nanocrystals have emerged as a promising, environmentally pleasant various for photo voltaic cells. Identified for his or her exceptionally excessive absorption coefficient, AgBiS2 nanocrystals allow the creation of ultrathin-film absorbers perfect for photo voltaic purposes. Though layer-by-layer manufacturing has already produced photo voltaic cells with spectacular efficiency, shifting from this multi-step deposition technique to a streamlined, single-step method is important to cut back materials waste, decrease prices, and improve scalability in manufacturing.
Growing AgBiS2 nanocrystal inks may make this single-step manufacturing method a actuality. Since 2020, varied research have explored this path, but AgBiS2 nanocrystals nonetheless exhibit important floor defects, resulting in low energy conversion effectivity in photo voltaic cells.
Present floor passivation methods, which goal to deal with these defects, have confirmed ineffective. These residual defects lure cost carriers generated by daylight, inflicting recombination and finally lowering the system’s effectivity to ranges under these achieved with the layer-by-layer technique.
To convey the effectivity of eco-friendly photo voltaic cells as much as aggressive ranges, an easier but simpler passivation method for AgBiS2 nanocrystal ink is required.
In a current breakthrough, ICFO researchers—Dr. Jae Taek Oh, Dr. Yongjie Wang, Dr. Carmelita Rodà, Dr. Debranjan Mandal, Dr. Gaurav Kumar, and Dr. Man Luke Whitworth, below the steering of ICREA Prof. Gerasimos Konstantatos—launched a promising answer.
The staff’s research, printed in Vitality & Environmental Science, presents a post-deposition in situ passivation (P-DIP) approach that enhances floor passivation and considerably improves the optoelectronic properties of nanocrystal ink movies. This modern technique led to ultrathin photo voltaic cells with superior energy conversion effectivity in comparison with these produced with multi-step deposition, marking a brand new effectivity document for sustainable nanocrystal photo voltaic cells.
Put up-Deposition in situ Passivation For Improved Floor Passivation
Researchers at ICFO had been in a position to efficiently passivate floor flaws of their nanocrystal ink sheet.
Think about a bumpy street that slows down automobiles. Floor passivation is like repaving the street, making it smoother so automobiles can transfer with out getting caught. In our case, the removing of floor defects is essential to facilitate the transportation of cost carriers created from mild absorption in nanocrystal movies. With our P-DIP technique, cost carries may transfer with out ‘bumping into so many obstacles’ throughout the AgBiS2 nanocrystals skinny movie.
Dr. Jae Taek Oh, Research First Writer and Researcher, ICFO
Successfully mitigating defects by an improved passivation technique resulted in greater movie high quality and, consequently, better-performing photo voltaic cells. These cells achieved an effectivity of roughly 10 %, surpassing that of earlier AgBiS2 nanocrystal-based photo voltaic cells produced by each single-step and layer-by-layer deposition strategies.
To realize these outcomes, the analysis staff synthesized AgBiS2 nanocrystal ink by introducing a multifunctional molecular agent containing chlorine. This agent’s molecular construction helped stabilize the nanocrystals and ensured even dispersion throughout the answer—each important for creating clean coatings.
Following movie deposition, the staff utilized additional passivation to the AgBiS2 nanocrystal surfaces. This particular in situ passivation approach prolonged the service lifetime and optimized service transport throughout the movie, each vital for enhancing photo voltaic cell effectivity. Collectively, these components enabled the unprecedented efficiency that ICFO researchers demonstrated on this research, setting a brand new benchmark for sustainable photo voltaic cell know-how.
Journal Reference:
Oh, J. T., et al. (2024) Put up-Deposition In-Situ Passivation of AgBiS2 Nanocrystal Inks for Excessive-Effectivity Extremely-Skinny Photo voltaic Cells. Vitality & Environmental Science. doi.org/10.1039/d4ee03266g.
