1
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Monroy Caltzonci D, Rasu Chettiar AD, Ibarra VC, Marasamy L, Loredo-Tovías M, Acosta-Torres LS, Manisekaran R. Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Effect of Positively Charged Nanosilver-Coated Silk Sutures. ACS Omega 2024; 9:17636-17645. [PMID: 38645349 PMCID: PMC11025086 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.4c01257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Revised: 03/16/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Sutures are a crucial component of surgical procedures, serving to close and stabilize wound margins to promote healing. However, microbial contamination of sutures can increase the risk of surgical site infections (SSI) due to colonization by pathogens. This study aimed to tackle SSI by synthesizing positively charged silver nanoparticles (P-AgNPs) and using them to produce antimicrobial sutures. The P-AgNPs were reduced and stabilized using polyethylenimine (PEI), a cationic branched polymer. The physiochemical characteristics of P-AgNPs were confirmed from the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak at 419 nm, spherical morphology with a particle size range of 8-10 nm, PEI functional groups on NPs, a hydrodynamic diameter of 12.3 ± 2.4 nm, and a zeta potential of 31.3 ± 6 mV. Subsequently, the surfaces of silk sutures were impregnated with P-AgNPs at different time intervals (24, 48, and 96 h) using an ex situ method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tensile strength studies were conducted to determine the coating and durability of the NP-coated sutures. The NPs were quantified on sutures using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrophotometry (ICP-OES), which was in the range of 1-5 μg. Primarily, antimicrobial activity was studied using three microorganisms (Candida albicans, Streptococcus mutans, and Staphylococcus aureus) for both P-AgNPs and suture-coated P-AgNPs using the agar diffusion method. The results showed that only the NPs and NP-coated sutures exhibited enhanced antimicrobial effects against bacteria and fungi. Finally, the cytotoxicity of the sutures was investigated using stem cells from the apical papilla (SCAPs) for 24 h, which exhibited more than 75% cell viability. Overall, the results indicate that NP-coated sutures can potentially be used as antimicrobial sutures to diminish or inhibit SSI in postoperative or general surgery patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego
Antonio Monroy Caltzonci
- Interdisciplinary
Research Laboratory (LII), Nanostructures and Biomaterials Area, Escuela
Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad León, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Predio el Saucillo y el Potrero,
Comunidad de los Tepetates, 37689 León, Mexico
| | - Aruna-Devi Rasu Chettiar
- Facultad
de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, 76010 Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Verónica Campos Ibarra
- Interdisciplinary
Research Laboratory (LII), Nanostructures and Biomaterials Area, Escuela
Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad León, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Predio el Saucillo y el Potrero,
Comunidad de los Tepetates, 37689 León, Mexico
| | - Latha Marasamy
- Facultad
de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, 76010 Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Marcos Loredo-Tovías
- Área
de Ciencias de la Tierra, Facultad de Ingeniería,UASLP, Av. Manuel Nava no.8, Zona Universitaria, 78290 San Luis Potosí, Mexico
| | - Laura Susana Acosta-Torres
- Interdisciplinary
Research Laboratory (LII), Nanostructures and Biomaterials Area, Escuela
Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad León, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Predio el Saucillo y el Potrero,
Comunidad de los Tepetates, 37689 León, Mexico
| | - Ravichandran Manisekaran
- Interdisciplinary
Research Laboratory (LII), Nanostructures and Biomaterials Area, Escuela
Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad León, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Predio el Saucillo y el Potrero,
Comunidad de los Tepetates, 37689 León, Mexico
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2
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Jansi R, Vinay B, Revathy MS, Sasikumar P, Marasamy L, Janani A, Haldhar R, Kim SC, Almarhoon ZM, Hossain MK. Synergistic Blends of Sodium Alginate and Pectin Biopolymer Hosts as Conducting Electrolytes for Electrochemical Applications. ACS Omega 2024; 9:13906-13916. [PMID: 38559920 PMCID: PMC10975598 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c09106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Revised: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
The world needs sustainable energy resources with affordable, economic, and accountable sources. Consequently, energy innovation technologies are evolving toward electrochemical applications like batteries, supercapacitors, etc. The current study involves the solid blend biopolymer electrolyte (SBBE) with different compositions of sodium alginate blended with pectin via the casting technique. The characterization of the sample was tested by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, AC impedance, linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), and cyclic voltammetry (CV) analyses. Evidently, the sample NP4 (NaAlg/pectin = 60:40 wt %) has a higher conductivity of 1.26 × 10-7 and 3.25 × 10-6 S cm-1 at 303 and 353 K, respectively. The performances of the samples were analyzed with variations in temperature, frequency, and time responses to signify the blended nature of the electrolyte. Hence, the studied biopolymers can be constructed for electrochemical device applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- R. Jansi
- Department
of Physics, School of Advanced Sciences, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil, Virudhunagar 626126, Tamil Nadu, India
- Multifunctional
Materials Laboratory, International Research Centre, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil, Virudhunagar 626126, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Boligarla Vinay
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, School of Bio, Chemical and Processing Engineering, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil, Virudhunagar 626126 Tamil Nadu, India
| | - M. S. Revathy
- Department
of Physics, School of Advanced Sciences, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil, Virudhunagar 626126, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Ponnusamy Sasikumar
- Department
of Physics, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Thandalam, Chennai 602105, India
| | - Latha Marasamy
- Facultad
de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro C.P.76010, Mexico
| | - Aruna Janani
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, School of Bio, Chemical and Processing Engineering, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil, Virudhunagar 626126 Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Rajesh Haldhar
- School
of
Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Republic of Korea
| | - Seong-Cheol Kim
- School
of
Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Republic of Korea
| | - Zainab M. Almarhoon
- Department
of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud
University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - M. Khalid Hossain
- Institute
of Electronics, Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, Dhaka 1349, Bangladesh
- Department
of Advanced Energy Engineering Science, Interdisciplinary Graduate
School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan
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3
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Chitkara M, Goyal N, Kumar A, Marasamy L, Haq S, Aldossari SA, Haldhar R, Hossain MK. Tailoring graphene-oxide and reduced-graphene-oxide with NaNO 3 and CaCl 2 catalysts with enhanced photo-catalytic degradation of methylene blue dye. RSC Adv 2024; 14:8769-8778. [PMID: 38495998 PMCID: PMC10938558 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra08256c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
This study employed various experimental techniques to produce graphene oxide (GO) under different conditions, such as the inclusion or exclusion of NaNO3, and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) with or without the catalyst CaCl2. The procedure of decreasing RGO was carried out using the reducing agent NaBH4. Moreover, the prepared mixtures were utilized in the degradation process of methylene blue (MB) dye using photo-catalysis, with exposure to both ultraviolet (UV) light and sunlight. When exposed to UV and sunlight irradiation, WN-GO showed rapid and ecologically friendly breakdown of MB dye in comparison to N-GO. WN-GO exhibited exceptional adsorption capabilities, surpassing other tested materials like N-GO, WN-C-RGO and C-RGO. Although WN-C-RGO has demonstrated satisfactory performance in terms of photo-catalytic degradation, as the concentration-time graph of the MB dye revealed significant degradation, with a reduction of up to 90% and 62.5% under UV light and sunlight exposure, respectively. These results offer insightful information on the potential of graphene-based materials to address other environmental issues, particularly in the areas of water treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mansi Chitkara
- Nanomaterials Research Laboratory, Chitkara University Rajpura 140401 Punjab India
- Chitkara University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University Rajpura 140401 Punjab India
| | - Nitin Goyal
- Chitkara University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University Rajpura 140401 Punjab India
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary 2500 University Dr NW T2N 1N4 Calgary Canada
| | - Aashish Kumar
- Nanomaterials Research Laboratory, Chitkara University Rajpura 140401 Punjab India
- Chitkara University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University Rajpura 140401 Punjab India
| | - Latha Marasamy
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro C.P.76010 Mexico
| | - Sirajul Haq
- Department of Chemistry, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Muzaffarabad 13100 Pakistan
| | - Samar A Aldossari
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University Riyadh 11451 Saudi Arabia
| | - Rajesh Haldhar
- School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University Gyeongsan 38541 Republic of Korea
| | - M Khalid Hossain
- Institute of Electronics, Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission Dhaka 1349 Bangladesh
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4
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Hossain KM, Rubel MHK, Hossain MK, Ishraque Toki GF, Marasamy L, Haldhar R, Ali MH, Baruah S, A. Alothman A, Mohammad S. Hydrothermal Synthesis, Phase Analysis, and Magneto-Electronic Characterizations of Lead-Free Ferroelectric BM 2+(Zn, Ca, Mg)T-BFO System. ACS Omega 2024; 9:9147-9160. [PMID: 38434879 PMCID: PMC10905731 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c08072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
In this study, lead-free BiM2+(Zn, Ca, Mg)Ti-BiFeO3 ceramics are fabricated under eco-friendly hydrothermal reaction conditions at 250 °C. XRD patterns show that all the synthesized compounds exhibit a phase coexistence of monoclinic and tetragonal perovskite-type structures with a morphotropic phase boundary at x = 0.4, with minimum impurity. The calculated average crystallite/grain size of the samples was close to 50 nm at full width at half-maximum of the main peak. The corresponding bonds of the constituent elements were observed by FTIR analysis, which further supports the formation of the local structure. EDS analyses detect all of the elements, their quantities, and compositional homogeneity. SEM data show agglomerated and nearly spherical morphology with an average particle size of about 128 nm. All synthesized ceramic powders revealed thermal stability with trivial mass loss up to investigated high temperatures (1000 οC). The dielectric constant reached its maximum at 38.7 MHz and finally remained constant after 80 MHz for all nanoceramics. Because of the complementary impact of different compositions, the most effective piezoelectric characteristics of d33 = 136 pCN-1, Pr = 8.6 pCN-1 cm-2, and kp = 11% at 30 °C were attained at x = 0.4 content for 0.4BiCaTi-0.6BiFeO3 ceramic. The measured magnetic hysteresis data (M-H curve) showed a weak ferromagnetic nature with the highest moment of ∼0.23 emu/g for 0.4BiCaTi-0.6BiFeO3, and other samples exhibited negligible ferromagnetic to diamagnetic transition. The optical response study shows that the 0.4BiMgTi-0.6BiFeO3 sample yielded the maximal transmittance (50%), whereas the 0.4BiCaTi-0.6BiFeO3 compound exhibited the highest refractive index. The calculated large band gap shows a high insulating or dielectric nature. Our findings demonstrate that the BiM2+Ti-BiFeO3 system, which was fabricated using a low-temperature hydrothermal technique, is an excellent lead-free piezoelectric and multiferroic nanoceramic.
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Affiliation(s)
- K. Monower Hossain
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, University
of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh
| | - M. H. Kabir Rubel
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, University
of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh
| | - M. Khalid Hossain
- Institute
of Electronics, Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, Dhaka 1349, Bangladesh
- Department
of Advanced Energy Engineering Science, Interdisciplinary Graduate
School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan
| | - G. F. Ishraque Toki
- College
of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua
University, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Latha Marasamy
- Facultad
de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro C.P.76010, Mexico
| | - Rajesh Haldhar
- School of
Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Republic of Korea
| | - Md Hasan Ali
- Department
of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur 5400, Bangladesh
| | - Smriti Baruah
- Department
of ECE, Madanapalle Institute of Technology
& Science, Madanapalle 517325, India
| | - Asma A. Alothman
- Department
of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud
University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Saikh Mohammad
- Department
of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud
University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
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5
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Marasamy L, Rasu Chettiar AD, Manisekaran R, Linda E, Rahman MF, Hossain MK, Pérez García CE, Santos-Cruz J, Subramaniam V, de Moure Flores F. Impact of selenization with NaCl treatment on the physical properties and solar cell performance of crack-free Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 microcrystal absorbers. RSC Adv 2024; 14:4436-4447. [PMID: 38312721 PMCID: PMC10835762 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra05829h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
In this study, we developed an ink using hexanethiol and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 microcrystals (CIGSe MCs) to make thin films via doctor blade coating. Besides, crack-free thin films were obtained by optimizing CIGSe MC powder concentration and annealing temperature. Subsequently, single-step selenization was performed with and without sodium chloride (NaCl) surface treatment by carefully tuning the temperature. A crack-free surface with densely packed grains was obtained at 500 °C after NaCl treatment. Moreover, the structural parameters of the thin film (annealed at 350 °C) were significantly modified via selenization with NaCl at 500 °C. For instance, the FWHM of the prominent (112) plane reduced from 1.44° to 0.47°, the dislocation density minimized from 13.10 to 1.40 × 1015 lines per m2, and the microstrain decreased from 4.14 to 1.35 × 10-3. Remarkably, these thin films exhibited a high mobility of 26.7 cm2 V-1 s-1 and a low resistivity of 0.03 Ω cm. As a proof of concept, solar cells were engineered with a device structure of SLG/Mo/CIGSe/CdS/i-ZnO/Al-ZnO/Ag, wherein a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.74% was achieved with exceptional reproducibility. Consequently, the outcomes of this investigation revealed the impact of selenization temperature and NaCl treatment on the physical properties and PCE of hexanethiol-based crack-free CIGSe MC ink-coated absorbers, providing new insights into the groundwork of cost-effective solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Latha Marasamy
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ) Santiago de Querétaro Querétaro C.P. 76010 Mexico
| | - Aruna-Devi Rasu Chettiar
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ) Santiago de Querétaro Querétaro C.P. 76010 Mexico
| | - Ravichandran Manisekaran
- Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory (LII), Nanostructures and Biomaterials Area, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad León, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Predio el Saucillo y el Potrero Comunidad de los Tepetates León C.P. 37684 Mexico
| | - Evangeline Linda
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ) Santiago de Querétaro Querétaro C.P. 76010 Mexico
| | - Md Ferdous Rahman
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Advanced Energy Materials and Solar Cell Research Laboratory, Begum Rokeya University Rangpur 5400 Bangladesh
| | - M Khalid Hossain
- Institute of Electronics, Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission Dhaka 1349 Bangladesh
| | - Claudia Elena Pérez García
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ) Santiago de Querétaro Querétaro C.P. 76010 Mexico
| | - José Santos-Cruz
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ) Santiago de Querétaro Querétaro C.P. 76010 Mexico
| | - Velumani Subramaniam
- J. Mike Walker '66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University Texas 77843 USA
| | - Francisco de Moure Flores
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ) Santiago de Querétaro Querétaro C.P. 76010 Mexico
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Vincent Mercy E, Srinivasan D, Marasamy L. Emerging BaZrS 3 and Ba(Zr,Ti)S 3 Chalcogenide Perovskite Solar Cells: A Numerical Approach Toward Device Engineering and Unlocking Efficiency. ACS Omega 2024; 9:4359-4376. [PMID: 38313502 PMCID: PMC10832013 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c06627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/06/2024]
Abstract
BaZrS3 chalcogenide perovskites have emerged as a promising absorber due to their exceptional properties. However, there are no experimental reports on the applicability of BaZrS3 in photovoltaics. Thus, theoretical knowledge of device structure engineering is essential for its successful fabrication. In this regard, we have proposed various BaZrS3 device configurations by altering 12 electron transport layers (ETLs) in combination with 13 hole transport layers (HTLs) using SCAPS-1D, wherein a total of 782 devices are simulated by tuning the thickness, carrier concentration, and defect density of BaZrS3, ETLs, and HTLs. Interestingly, the absorber's thickness optimization enhanced the absorption in the device by 2.31 times, elevating the generation rate of charge carriers, while the increase in its carrier concentration boosted the built-in potential from 0.8 to 1.68 V, reducing the accumulation of charge carriers at the interfaces. Notably, on further optimization of ETL and HTL combinations, the best power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 28.08% is achieved for FTO/ZrS2/BaZrS3/SnS/Au, occurring due to the suppressed barrier height of 0.1 eV at the ZrS2/BaZrS3 interface and degenerate behavior of SnS, which increased charge carrier transportation and conductivity of the devices. Upon optimizing the work function, an ohmic contact is achieved for Pt, boosting the PCE to 28.17%. Finally, the impact of Ti alloying on BaZrS3 properties is examined on the champion FTO/ZrS2/BaZrS3/SnS/Pt device where the maximum PCE of 32.58% is obtained for Ba(Zr0.96,Ti0.04)S3 at a thickness of 700 nm due to extended absorption in the NIR region. Thus, this work opens doors to researchers for the experimental realization of high PCE in BaZrS3 devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eupsy
Navis Vincent Mercy
- Facultad de Química,
Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma
de Querétaro, Santiago
de Querétaro, Querétaro C.P. 76010, México
| | - Dhineshkumar Srinivasan
- Facultad de Química,
Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma
de Querétaro, Santiago
de Querétaro, Querétaro C.P. 76010, México
| | - Latha Marasamy
- Facultad de Química,
Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma
de Querétaro, Santiago
de Querétaro, Querétaro C.P. 76010, México
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Arockiya Dass KT, Hossain MK, Marasamy L. Highly efficient emerging Ag 2BaTiSe 4 solar cells using a new class of alkaline earth metal-based chalcogenide buffers alternative to CdS. Sci Rep 2024; 14:1473. [PMID: 38233504 PMCID: PMC10794422 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-51711-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 is a non-toxic, earth-abundant photovoltaic absorber. However, its efficiency is limited by a large open circuit voltage (VOC) deficit occurring due to its antisite defects and improper band alignment with toxic CdS buffer. Therefore, finding an absorber and non-toxic buffers that reduce VOC deficit is crucial. Herein, for the first time, Ag2BaTiSe4 is proposed as an alternative absorber using SCAPS-1D wherein a new class of alkaline earth metal chalcogenide such as MgS, CaS, SrS, and BaS is applied as buffers, and their characteristics are compared with CdS to identify their potential and suitability. The buffer and absorber properties are elucidated by tuning their thickness, carrier concentration, and defect density. Interestingly, optimization of the buffer's carrier concentration suppressed the barrier height and accumulation of charge carriers at the absorber/buffer interface, leading to efficiencies of 18.81%, 17.17%, 20.6%, 20.85%, 20.08% in MgS, CaS, SrS, BaS, and CdS-based solar cells respectively. Upon optimizing Ag2BaTiSe4, MoSe2, and interface defects maximum efficiency of > 28% is achieved with less VOC loss (~ 0.3 V) in all solar cells at absorber's thickness, carrier concentration, and defect density of 1 µm, 1018 cm-3, 1015 cm-3 respectively, underscoring the promising nature of Ag2BaTiSe4 absorber and new alkaline earth metal chalcogenide buffers in photovoltaics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaviya Tracy Arockiya Dass
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, 76010, Santiago de Querétaro, QRO, México
| | - M Khalid Hossain
- Institute of Electronics, Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, Dhaka, 1349, Bangladesh
| | - Latha Marasamy
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, 76010, Santiago de Querétaro, QRO, México.
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Rahman MF, Chowdhury M, Marasamy L, Mohammed MKA, Haque MD, Al Ahmed SR, Irfan A, Chaudhry AR, Goumri-Said S. Improving the efficiency of a CIGS solar cell to above 31% with Sb 2S 3 as a new BSF: a numerical simulation approach by SCAPS-1D. RSC Adv 2024; 14:1924-1938. [PMID: 38192318 PMCID: PMC10772862 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra07893k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The remarkable performance of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS)-based double heterojunction (DH) photovoltaic cells is presented in this work. To increase all photovoltaic performance parameters, in this investigation, a novel solar cell structure (FTO/SnS2/CIGS/Sb2S3/Ni) is explored by utilizing the SCAPS-1D simulation software. Thicknesses of the buffer, absorber and back surface field (BSF) layers, acceptor density, defect density, capacitance-voltage (C-V), interface defect density, rates of generation and recombination, operating temperature, current density, and quantum efficiency have been investigated for the proposed solar devices with and without BSF. The presence of the BSF layer significantly influences the device's performance parameters including short-circuit current (Jsc), open-circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (FF), and power conversion efficiency (PCE). After optimization, the simulation results of a conventional CIGS cell (FTO/SnS2/CIGS/Ni) have shown a PCE of 22.14% with Voc of 0.91 V, Jsc of 28.21 mA cm-2, and FF of 86.31. Conversely, the PCE is improved to 31.15% with Voc of 1.08 V, Jsc of 33.75 mA cm-2, and FF of 88.50 by introducing the Sb2S3 BSF in the structure of FTO/SnS2/CIGS/Sb2S3/Ni. These findings of the proposed CIGS-based double heterojunction (DH) solar cells offer an innovative method for realization of high-efficiency solar cells that are more promising than the previously reported traditional designs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Ferdous Rahman
- Advanced Energy Materials and Solar Cell Research Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Begum Rokeya University Rangpur 5400 Bangladesh
| | - Mithun Chowdhury
- Advanced Energy Materials and Solar Cell Research Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Begum Rokeya University Rangpur 5400 Bangladesh
| | - Latha Marasamy
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ) Santiago de Querétaro Querétaro C.P. 76010 Mexico
| | - Mustafa K A Mohammed
- College of Remote Sensing and Geophysics, Al-Karkh University of Science Al-Karkh Side, Haifa St. Hamada Palace Baghdad 10011 Iraq
| | - Md Dulal Haque
- Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University Dinajpur 5200 Bangladesh
| | - Sheikh Rashel Al Ahmed
- Department of Electrical, Electronic and Communication Engineering, Pabna University of Science and Technology Pabna 6600 Bangladesh
| | - Ahmad Irfan
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Khalid University P.O. Box 9004 Abha 61413 Saudi Arabia
| | - Aijaz Rasool Chaudhry
- Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Bisha P.O. Box 551 Bisha 61922 Saudi Arabia
| | - Souraya Goumri-Said
- Physics Department, Colleges of Science and General Studies, Alfaisal University P.O. Box 50927 Riyadh 11533 Saudi Arabia
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Sekar K, Marasamy L, Mayarambakam S, Hawashin H, Nour M, Bouclé J. Lead-free, formamidinium germanium-antimony halide (FA 4GeSbCl 12) double perovskite solar cells: the effects of band offsets. RSC Adv 2023; 13:25483-25496. [PMID: 37636501 PMCID: PMC10450393 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra03102k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Double halide perovskites have received massive attention due to their low toxicity, tunable bandgap, structural flexibility, and stability as compared to conventional 3D lead halide perovskites. Particularly, newly discovered formamidinium germanium-antimony halide (FA4GeSbCl12) double perovskites offer an excellent bandgap (∼1.3 eV) for solar cell (SC) applications. Therefore, in this study, for the first time, we have simulated FTO/TiO2/FA4GeSbCl12/Cu2O/Au planar SCs using SCAPS-1D, showing a maximum power conversion efficiency of 22.5% with Jsc = 34.52 mA cm-2, Voc = 0.76 V, and FF = 85.1%. The results show that the variation in valence and conduction band offsets (-0.4 to +0.2 eV and -0.4 to +0.57 eV) at the ETL/absorber and absorber/HTL interfaces dominate the SC performance. Also, different absorber defect densities (1 × 1014-1 × 1020 cm-3) and thicknesses (200-3000 nm) effectively influence the PCE. Moreover, simulated impedance spectroscopy (IS) data (through SCAPS-1D) were fitted using equivalent electrical circuits to extract relevant parameters, including Rs, RHF, and RLF, allowing us to better discuss the physics of the device. The fitted IS results strongly revealed that enhanced SC performance is associated with higher recombination resistance and a larger recombination lifetime. Likewise, a slight variation in the Rs (0 to 2.5 Ω cm2) highly impacts the PCE (22.5% to 19.7%). Furthermore, a tandem cell is designed by combining the top cell of ethylenediammonium-FASnI3 perovskite with the FA4GeSbCl12 bottom cell using a filtered spectrum strategy, which opens the door for multi-junction SC applications. These findings firmly reveal that the appropriate energy level alignment at interfaces with suitable material properties is the key to boosting SC performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karthick Sekar
- Univ. Limoges, CNRS, XLIM, UMR 7252 Limoges F-87000 France
- GREMAN UMR 7347, Université de Tours, CNRS, INSA Centre Val de Loire 37071 Tours France
| | - Latha Marasamy
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro Santiago de Querétaro Querétaro C.P. 76010 Mexico
| | - Sasikumar Mayarambakam
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER)-Tirupati Tirupati 517507 A.P. India
| | | | - Mohamad Nour
- GREMAN UMR 7347, Université de Tours, CNRS, INSA Centre Val de Loire 37071 Tours France
| | - Johann Bouclé
- Univ. Limoges, CNRS, XLIM, UMR 7252 Limoges F-87000 France
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