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Bienz S, Spaggiari G, Calestani D, Trevisi G, Bersani D, Zenobi R, Kumar N. Nanoscale Chemical Analysis of Thin Film Solar Cell Interfaces Using Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:14704-14711. [PMID: 38494603 PMCID: PMC10982994 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c17115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Interfacial regions play a key role in determining the overall power conversion efficiency of thin film solar cells. However, the nanoscale investigation of thin film interfaces using conventional analytical tools is challenging due to a lack of required sensitivity and spatial resolution. Here, we surmount these obstacles using tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) and apply it to investigate the absorber (Sb2Se3) and buffer (CdS) layers interface in a Sb2Se3-based thin film solar cell. Hyperspectral TERS imaging with 10 nm spatial resolution reveals that the investigated interface between the absorber and buffer layers is far from uniform, as TERS analysis detects an intermixing of chemical compounds instead of a sharp demarcation between the CdS and Sb2Se3 layers. Intriguingly, this interface, comprising both Sb2Se3 and CdS compounds, exhibits an unexpectedly large thickness of 295 ± 70 nm attributable to the roughness of the Sb2Se3 layer. Furthermore, TERS measurements provide compelling evidence of CdS penetration into the Sb2Se3 layer, likely resulting from unwanted reactions on the absorber surface during chemical bath deposition. Notably, the coexistence of ZnO, which serves as the uppermost conducting layer, and CdS within the Sb2Se3-rich region has been experimentally confirmed for the first time. This study underscores TERS as a promising nanoscale technique to investigate thin film inorganic solar cell interfaces, offering novel insights into intricate interface structures and compound intermixing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siiri Bienz
- Department
of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH
Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1-5/10, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Giulia Spaggiari
- Department
of Mathematical, Physical and Computer Sciences, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 7/A, I-43124 Parma, Italy
- Institute
of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism, National Research Council, Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A, I-43124 Parma, Italy
| | - Davide Calestani
- Institute
of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism, National Research Council, Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A, I-43124 Parma, Italy
| | - Giovanna Trevisi
- Institute
of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism, National Research Council, Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A, I-43124 Parma, Italy
| | - Danilo Bersani
- Department
of Mathematical, Physical and Computer Sciences, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 7/A, I-43124 Parma, Italy
| | - Renato Zenobi
- Department
of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH
Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1-5/10, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Naresh Kumar
- Department
of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH
Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1-5/10, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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Filez M, Walke P, Le-The H, Toyouchi S, Peeters W, Tomkins P, Eijkel JCT, De Feyter S, Detavernier C, De Vos DE, Uji-I H, Roeffaers MBJ. Nanoscale Chemical Diversity of Coke Deposits on Nanoprinted Metal Catalysts Visualized by Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2024; 36:e2305984. [PMID: 37938141 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202305984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023]
Abstract
Coke formation is the prime cause of catalyst deactivation, where undesired carbon wastes block the catalyst surface and hinder further reaction in a broad gamut of industrial chemical processes. Yet, the origins of coke formation and their distribution across the catalyst remain elusive, obstructing the design of coke-resistant catalysts. Here, the first-time application of tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) is demonstrated as a nanoscale chemical probe to localize and identify coke deposits on a post-mortem metal nanocatalyst. Monitoring coke at the nanoscale circumvents bulk averaging and reveals the local nature of coke with unmatched detail. The nature of coke is chemically diverse and ranges from nanocrystalline graphite to disordered and polymeric coke, even on a single nanoscale location of a top-down nanoprinted SiO2 -supported Pt catalyst. Surprisingly, not all Pt is an equal producer of coke, where clear isolated coke "hotspots" are present non-homogeneously on Pt which generate large amounts of disordered coke. After their formation, coke shifts to the support and undergoes long-range transport on the surrounding SiO2 surface, where it becomes more graphitic. The presented results provide novel guidelines to selectively free-up the coked metal surface at more mild rejuvenation conditions, thus securing the long-term catalyst stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Filez
- Centre for Membrane Separations, Adsorption, Catalysis and Spectroscopy for Sustainable Solutions (cMACS), KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
- Conformal Coating of Nanomaterials (CoCooN), Department of Solid State Sciences, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281/S1, Ghent, 9000, Belgium
| | - Peter Walke
- Division of Molecular Imaging and Photonics, Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Hai Le-The
- BIOS Lab-on-a-Chip Group, MESA+ Institute, University of Twente, Enschede, NB, 7522, The Netherlands
| | - Shuichi Toyouchi
- Division of Molecular Imaging and Photonics, Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Wannes Peeters
- Division of Molecular Imaging and Photonics, Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Patrick Tomkins
- Centre for Membrane Separations, Adsorption, Catalysis and Spectroscopy for Sustainable Solutions (cMACS), KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Jan C T Eijkel
- BIOS Lab-on-a-Chip Group, MESA+ Institute, University of Twente, Enschede, NB, 7522, The Netherlands
| | - Steven De Feyter
- Division of Molecular Imaging and Photonics, Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Christophe Detavernier
- Conformal Coating of Nanomaterials (CoCooN), Department of Solid State Sciences, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281/S1, Ghent, 9000, Belgium
| | - Dirk E De Vos
- Centre for Membrane Separations, Adsorption, Catalysis and Spectroscopy for Sustainable Solutions (cMACS), KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Hiroshi Uji-I
- Division of Molecular Imaging and Photonics, Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
- Research Institute for Electronic Science (RIES), Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 001-0020, Japan
- Division of Information Science and Technology, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0814, Japan
| | - Maarten B J Roeffaers
- Centre for Membrane Separations, Adsorption, Catalysis and Spectroscopy for Sustainable Solutions (cMACS), KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
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