Search results for " solar Cells"

Electrochemical deposition of CIGS on electropolished Mo

2012

Nanostructured Electrochemical Devices for Sensing, Energy Conversion and Storage

2016

Nanostructured materials are attracting growing interest for improving performance of devices and systems of large technological interest. In this work, the principal results about the use of nanostructured materials in the field of electrochemical energy storage, electrochemical water splitting, and electrochemical sensing are presented. Nanostructures were fabricated with two different techniques. One of these was the electrodeposition of the desired material inside the channels of a porous support acting as template. The other one was based on displacement reaction induced by galvanic contact between metals with different electrochemical nobility. In the present work, a commercial polyca…

Synthesis and characterization of nanostructured materials applied to energy devices

2011

Metal displacement deposition: a new method to grow amorphous silicon nanotubes

2013

Nanochemistry Aspects of Titania in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

2009

We analyze the main nanochemistry factors affecting photovoltaic performance in TiO2 employed as wide bandgap semiconductor in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). What is the best morphology of the oxide? Which processes yield the required structures? Finally, putting the discussion in the context of the rapid evolution of photovoltaic technologies, we argue that new titania nanostructures will form the basic component of second-generation solar modules based on dye solar cells.

Donor/acceptor heterojunction organic solar cells

2017

Organic solar cells (OSCs) have made very good improvements in recent years, reaching power conversion efficiencies above 10% [1]. This have been achieved through chemical synthesis of new organic materials with improved properties and also by new and more or less complex structures such as donor/acceptor (D/A) or bulk heterojunction OSCs. Here we report the results of initial development of OSCs based on the simple D/A heterojunction [2]. Copper phtalocyanine (CuPc) is used as donor organic material, whereas perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) and fullerene (C60) as acceptor organic materials. Moreover bathocuproine (BCP) is used as exciton blocking layer. Devices are fabricated by…

Electrical characterization of high-efficiency bifacial silicon solar cells

2018

This work presents a preliminary study on the electrical characterization of high efficiency bifacial solar cells. An opening discussion on the state-of-the-art of such advanced technology is initially proposed and the experimental characterization of some prototypes is described. From this analysis, it can be stated that the bifacial silicon solar cells can be a very promising technology with high electrical performances and efficiency.

Broadband photocurrent enhancement in a-Si:H solar cells with plasmonic back reflectors

2014

The authors acknowledge Francesco Ruffino for the AFM measurements. This work was funded by the EU FP7 Marie Curie Action FP7-PEOPLE-2010-ITN through the PROPHET project (Grant No. 264687), the bilateral CNR/AVCR project "Photoresponse of nanostructures for advanced photovoltaic applications", the MIUR project Energetic (Grant no. PON02_00355_3391233) and by the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT-MEC) through the Strategic Project PEst-C/CTM/LA0025/2013-14 and the research project PTDC/CTM-ENE/2514/2012. Plasmonic light trapping in thin film silicon solar cells is a promising route to achieve high efficiency with reduced volumes of semiconductor material. In this paper, we study the enhance…

Low-cost high-haze films based on ZnO nanorods for light scattering in thin c-Si solar cells

2015

Light scattering from ZnO nanorods (NR) is investigated, modeled, and applied to a solar cell. ZnO NR (120-1300 nm long, 280-60 nm large), grown by low-cost chemical bath deposition at 90 degrees C, exhibit diffused-to-total transmitted light as high as 70% and 30% in the 400 and 1000 nm wavelength range, respectively. Data and scattering simulation show that ZnO NR length plays a crucial role in light diffusion effect. A transparent ZnO NR film grown on glass and placed on top of a 1 mu m thick c-Si solar cell is shown to enhance the light-current conversion efficiency for wavelengths longer than 600 nm. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

The origin of slow electron recombination processes in dye-sensitized solar cells with alumina barrier coatings

2004

We investigate the effect of a thin alumina coating of nanocrystalline TiO2 films on recombination dynamics of dye-sensitized solar cells. Both coated and uncoated cells were measured by a combination of techniques: transient absorption spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and open-circuit voltage decay. It is found that the alumina barrier reduces the recombination of photoinjected electrons to both dye cations and the oxidized redox couple. It is proposed that this observed retardation can be attributed primarily to two effects: almost complete passivation of surface trap states in TiO2 that are able to inject electrons to acceptor species, and slowing down by a factor of…