Search results for "photovoltaic"
showing 10 items of 646 documents
Highly efficient and stable dye-sensitized solar cells based on SnO2nanocrystals prepared by microwave-assisted synthesis
2012
Highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with excellent long-term stability were fabricated based on tin(IV) oxide (SnO2) nanocrystals with tunable morphologies and band energy levels. The nanocrystals were prepared by a facile, fast, and energy-saving microwave-assisted solvothermal reaction. Through variation of the precursor base used during nanocrystal synthesis control over morphology was achieved—precursor metal cations are known to have a strong influence on the growth process of SnO2 nanostructures. A simple and economic way to prepare semiconducting pastes for photoanodes was devised. The photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells based on SnO2 photoanodes wa…
Isomerism effect on the photovoltaic properties of benzotrithiophene-based hole-transporting materials
2017
Engineering of inorganic–organic lead halide perovskites for photovoltaic applications has experienced significant advances in recent years. However, the use of the relatively expensive spiro-OMeTAD as a hole-transporting material (HTM) poses a challenge due to dopant-induced degradation. Herein we introduce two new three-armed and four-armed HTMs (BTT-4 and BTT-5) based on isomeric forms of benzotrithiophene (BTT). The isomerism impact on the optical, electrochemical and photophysical properties and the photovoltaic performance is systematically investigated. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) using BTT-4 and BTT-5 as HTMs show remarkable light-to-energy conversion efficiencies of 19.0% and 18.…
Assigning ionic properties in perovskite solar cells; a unifying transient simulation/experimental study
2021
Kinetic modelling has proven to be essential to understand the time and spatial dependence of charge carriers in solar cells. Traditional drift–diffusion simulations have generally been employed to describe static steady-state conditions, whereas recently the transient counterpart has been able to reveal more detailed information regarding carrier kinetics. In addition to customary electron and hole dynamics, perovskite materials are known to also be strongly affected by the displacement of lattice vacancies, charged atoms or even entire molecules. Such ionic motion transpires on vastly different time scales compared to free charges and are generally not straightforward to simultaneously ac…
Nucleant layer effect on nanocolumnar ZnO films grown by electrodeposition
2013
Different ZnO nanostructured films were electrochemically grown, using an aqueous solution based on ZnCl2, on three types of transparent conductive oxides grow on commercial ITO (In2O3:Sn)-covered glass substrates: (1) ZnO prepared by spin coating, (2) ZnO prepared by direct current magnetron sputtering, and (3) commercial ITO-covered glass substrates. Although thin, these primary oxide layers play an important role on the properties of the nanostructured films grown on top of them. Additionally, these primary oxide layers prevent direct hole combination when used in optoelectronic devices. Structural and optical characterizations were carried out by scanning electron microscopy, atomic for…
Robustness and electrical reliability of AZO/Ag/AZO thin film after bending stress
2017
Abstract The increasing interest in thin flexible and bendable devices has led to a strong demand for mechanically robust and electrically reliable transparent electrodes. Indium doped Tin Oxide (ITO) and Aluminium doped Zinc Oxide (AZO) are among the most employed transparent conductive oxides (TCO) and their reliability on flexible substrates have thus received a great attention. However, a high flexibility is usually achieved at very low thickness, which, unfortunately, compromises the electrical conductivity. Here we report the effects of mechanical bending cycles on the electrical and optical properties of ultra thin AZO/Ag/AZO multilayers (45 nm/10 nm/45 nm) and, for comparison, of AZ…
Manipulation of charge transfer and transport in plasmonic-ferroelectric hybrids for photoelectrochemical applications
2016
Utilizing plasmonic nanostructures for efficient and flexible conversion of solar energy into electricity or fuel presents a new paradigm in photovoltaics and photoelectrochemistry research. In a conventional photoelectrochemical cell, consisting of a plasmonic structure in contact with a semiconductor, the type of photoelectrochemical reaction is determined by the band bending at the semiconductor/electrolyte interface. The nature of the reaction is thus hard to tune. Here instead of using a semiconductor, we employed a ferroelectric material, Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT). By depositing gold nanoparticle arrays and PZT films on ITO substrates, and studying the photocurrent as well as the femtosecond …
Structural defects in Hg1−xCdxI2 layers grown on CdTe substrates by vapor phase epitaxy
1997
Hg1−xCdxI2 20–25-μm-thick layers with a uniform composition in the range of x = 0.1–0.2 were grown on CdTe substrates by vapor phase epitaxy (VPE). The growth was carried out using an α-HgI2 polycrystalline source at 200 °C and in the time range of 30–100 h. The layers were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution synchrotron x-ray topography (SXRT). The SEM and SXRT images of Hg1−xCdxI2 VPE layers allow one to identify the defects affecting the layer structure. The two main types of structural defects in the layers are subgrain boundaries and densely spaced striations similar to those referred generally to as vapor grown HgI2 bulk crystals. The effect of the growth…
Active Translucent Envelopes in Warm and Hot Areas – An innovative multifunctional, dry-assembled components for BIPV
2014
International directives that regulates buildings energy efficiency and environmental sustainability establish strict parameters for the construction of a new generation of “Zero Energy Buildings” indicating transmittance limits for building envelope components and encouraging the use of renewable sources. In this sense, the PV sector aims at the definition of novel efficient solutions for the integration in the building envelope, standing out for their multifunctional features. After an overview on the main PV technologies and building integrated applications, focusing on semi-transparent envelope solutions, the paper shows the results of a research carried out at the Department of Archite…
Photovoltaic facade: Comparison of actual technologies
2017
This article aims to establish the economic contribution of a photovoltaic system placed on a façade of a building, replacing traditional elements such as windows and glass-cement walls with active elements. The aim is to compare the behavior of next-generation systems, which favor architectonical integration, with traditional ones. Two novel systems have been taken into account: a dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) and blue and grey thin film silicon panels. Different generation systems have been tested and compared in terms of efficiency and fill factor.
Kinetics of Bulk Lifetime Degradation in Float‐Zone (FZ) Silico n : Fast Activation and Annihilation of Grown‐In Defects and the Role of Hydrogen vs …
2020
Float-zone (FZ) silicon often has grown-in defects that are thermally activated in a broad temperature window (≈300–800 °C). These defects cause efficient electron-hole pair recombination, which deteriorates the bulk minority carrier lifetime and thereby possible photovoltaic conversion efficiencies. Little is known so far about these defects which are possibly Si-vacancy/nitrogen-related (VxNy). Herein, it is shown that the defect activation takes place on sub-second timescales, as does the destruction of the defects at higher temperatures. Complete defect annihilation, however, is not achieved until nitrogen impurities are effused from the wafer, as confirmed by secondary ion mass spectro…