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Machín A, Márquez F. Advancements in Photovoltaic Cell Materials: Silicon, Organic, and Perovskite Solar Cells. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 17:1165. [PMID: 38473635 DOI: 10.3390/ma17051165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Revised: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
The evolution of photovoltaic cells is intrinsically linked to advancements in the materials from which they are fabricated. This review paper provides an in-depth analysis of the latest developments in silicon-based, organic, and perovskite solar cells, which are at the forefront of photovoltaic research. We scrutinize the unique characteristics, advantages, and limitations of each material class, emphasizing their contributions to efficiency, stability, and commercial viability. Silicon-based cells are explored for their enduring relevance and recent innovations in crystalline structures. Organic photovoltaic cells are examined for their flexibility and potential for low-cost production, while perovskites are highlighted for their remarkable efficiency gains and ease of fabrication. The paper also addresses the challenges of material stability, scalability, and environmental impact, offering a balanced perspective on the current state and future potential of these material technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abniel Machín
- Environmental Catalysis Research Laboratory, Division of Natural Sciences and Technology, Universidad Ana G. Méndez-Cupey Campus, San Juan, PR 00926, USA
| | - Francisco Márquez
- Nanomaterials Research Group, Department of Natural Sciences and Technology, Universidad Ana G. Méndez-Gurabo Campus, Gurabo, PR 00778, USA
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Ahmad NI, Kar YB, Doroody C, Kiong TS, Rahman KS, Harif MN, Amin N. A comprehensive review of flexible cadmium telluride solar cells with back surface field layer. Heliyon 2023; 9:e21622. [PMID: 38027707 PMCID: PMC10663865 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent advancements in CdTe solar cell technology have introduced the integration of flexible substrates, providing lightweight and adaptable energy solutions for various applications. Some of the notable applications of flexible solar photovoltaic technology include building integrated photovoltaic systems (BIPV), transportation, aerospace, satellites, etc. However, despite this advancement, certain issues regarding metal and p-CdTe remained unresolved. Besides, the fabrication of a full-working device on flexible glass is challenging and requires special consideration due to the unstable morphology and structural properties of deposited film on ultra-thin glass substrates. The existing gap in knowledge about the vast potential of flexible CdTe solar cells on UTG substrates and their possible applications blocks their full capacity utilization. Hence, this comprehensive review paper exclusively concentrates on the obstacles associated with the implementation of CdTe solar cells on UTG substrates with a potential back surface field (BSF) layer. The significance of this study lies in its meticulous identification and analysis of the substantial challenges associated with integrating flexible CdTe onto UTG substrates and leveraging Cu-doped ZnTe as a potential BSF layer to enhance the performance of flexible CdTe solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nur Irwany Ahmad
- College of Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN @The Energy University), Putrajaya Campus, Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering & Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Arau 02600, Perlis, Malaysia
| | - Yap Boon Kar
- College of Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN @The Energy University), Putrajaya Campus, Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
- Institute of Sustainable Energy (ISE), University Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN @The Energy University), Putrajaya Campus, Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Camellia Doroody
- College of Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN @The Energy University), Putrajaya Campus, Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
- Institute of Sustainable Energy (ISE), University Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN @The Energy University), Putrajaya Campus, Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Tiong Sieh Kiong
- College of Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN @The Energy University), Putrajaya Campus, Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
- Institute of Sustainable Energy (ISE), University Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN @The Energy University), Putrajaya Campus, Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Kazi Sajedur Rahman
- Solar Energy Research.Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Muhammad Najib Harif
- Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Cawangan Negeri Sembilan, 72000, Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
| | - Nowshad Amin
- Dept. of Electrical Electronic and Systems Engineering, FKAB, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
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Lu W, Wang R, Li R, Wang Y, Wang Q, Qin Y, Chen Y, Lai W, Zhang X. Stable Ultrathin Ag Electrodes by Tailoring the Surface of Plastic Substrates for Flexible Organic Light-Emitting Devices. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:55905-55914. [PMID: 36475577 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c18738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Flexible transparent metal electrodes (FTMEs) have significant application potentials in the fields of flexible optoelectronic devices due to their outstanding optical transmittance and electrical conductivity. However, obtaining excellent optoelectrical properties and mechanical flexibility of FTMEs is challenging because ultrathin metal layers usually follow an island growth mode. In this paper, flexible transparent ultrathin Ag electrodes with high mechanical stability and good optoelectrical properties were exploited by tailoring the surface properties of plastic substrates with ultraviolet-ozone (UVO) treatment for regulating the nucleation and growth kinetics of Ag films. The composite transparent electrodes of Ag (9 nm)/MoO3 (20 nm) fabricated on the UVO-treated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates possess a low sheet resistance of ∼7.9 Ω/sq, a high optical transmittance of ∼87.2% at 550 nm, a long-period environmental stability of 30 days (∼65 °C, ∼80% humidity), and excellent mechanical flexibility of 100,000 bending cycles at a bending radius of 1.5 mm. These properties are derived from the surface treatment of PET substrates by UVO, which increases substrate surface energy and produces chemical nucleation sites of the phenolic hydroxyl groups. The phenolic hydroxyl groups generated on the PET surface not only provided efficient nucleation sites for subsequent Ag film growth but also formed C-O-Ag bonds between the substrate surface and the Ag layer, which act as "anchor chains" to fix firmly the Ag atoms on the substrate surface. As a universal applicability strategy, the composite electrodes on the UVO-treated polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) and norland optical adhesive 63 (NOA63) substrates also possess excellent optoelectrical properties and mechanical flexibility. Based on the ultrathin Ag composite electrodes, the flexible white organic light-emitting devices with PET, PEN, and NOA63 as substrates present the maximum current efficiencies of 53.0, 77.0, and 65.2 cd/A, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjuan Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Nanjing210023, China
| | - Ruiting Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Nanjing210023, China
| | - Ruiqing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Nanjing210023, China
| | - Yeyang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Nanjing210023, China
| | - Qianqian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Nanjing210023, China
| | - Yue Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Nanjing210023, China
| | - Yuehua Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Nanjing210023, China
| | - Wenyong Lai
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Nanjing210023, China
| | - Xinwen Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Nanjing210023, China
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Duan L, Uddin A. Progress in Stability of Organic Solar Cells. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2020; 7:1903259. [PMID: 32537401 PMCID: PMC7284215 DOI: 10.1002/advs.201903259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Revised: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 03/25/2020] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
The organic solar cell (OSC) is a promising emerging low-cost thin film photovoltaics technology. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of OSCs has overpassed 16% for single junction and 17% for organic-organic tandem solar cells with the development of low bandgap organic materials synthesis and device processing technology. The main barrier of commercial use of OSCs is the poor stability of devices. Herein, the factors limiting the stability of OSCs are summarized. The limiting stability factors are oxygen, water, irradiation, heating, metastable morphology, diffusion of electrodes and buffer layers materials, and mechanical stress. The recent progress in strategies to increase the stability of OSCs is surveyed, such as material design, device engineering of active layers, employing inverted geometry, optimizing buffer layers, using stable electrodes and encapsulation materials. The International Summit on Organic Photovoltaic Stability guidelines are also discussed. The potential research strategies to achieve the required device stability and efficiency are highlighted, rendering possible pathways to facilitate the viable commercialization of OSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leiping Duan
- School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy EngineeringUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNSW2052Australia
| | - Ashraf Uddin
- School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy EngineeringUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNSW2052Australia
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Ren H, Chen J, Li Y, Tang J. Recent Progress in Organic Photodetectors and their Applications. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2020; 8:2002418. [PMID: 33437578 PMCID: PMC7788634 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202002418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Revised: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Organic photodetectors (OPDs) have attracted continuous attention due to their outstanding advantages, such as tunability of detecting wavelength, low-cost manufacturing, compatibility with lightweight and flexible devices, as well as ease of processing. Enormous efforts on performance improvement and application of OPDs have been devoted in the past decades. In this Review, recent advances in device architectures and operation mechanisms of phototransistor, photoconductor, and photodiode based OPDs are reviewed with a focus on the strategies aiming at performance improvement. The application of OPDs in spectrally selective detection, wearable devices, and integrated optoelectronics are also discussed. Furthermore, some future prospects on the research challenges and new opportunities of OPDs are covered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Ren
- School of Physics and Electronics ScienceMinistry of Education Nanophotonics & Advanced Instrument Engineering Research CenterEast China Normal UniversityShanghai200062P. R. China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon‐Based Functional Materials & DevicesInstitute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM)Soochow UniversitySuzhouJiangsu215123P. R. China
| | - Jing‐De Chen
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon‐Based Functional Materials & DevicesInstitute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM)Soochow UniversitySuzhouJiangsu215123P. R. China
| | - Yan‐Qing Li
- School of Physics and Electronics ScienceMinistry of Education Nanophotonics & Advanced Instrument Engineering Research CenterEast China Normal UniversityShanghai200062P. R. China
| | - Jian‐Xin Tang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon‐Based Functional Materials & DevicesInstitute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM)Soochow UniversitySuzhouJiangsu215123P. R. China
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