Extrinsic Doping of Ink‐Based Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)₂‐Absorbers for Photovoltaic Applications

Abstract

forest fires, and melting glaciers: it is evident that global over-reliance on fossil fuels must shift in favor of carbonfree energy sources to mitigate climate change. [1][2][3] Global energy consumption in 2020 was 162 Petawatt hours (PWh), out of which the electricity consumption was ≈30 PWh. [2,4] It is predicted that by 2050, an additional 30 TW will be required to meet mankind's increasing power demands. [5][6][7] The sun is an inexhaustible clean energy source transmitting nearly 120 000 TW to the earth's surface, far greater in magnitude than all other renewable energy sources combined. [8,9] While this power is abundantly available, harnessing it on terawatt scales with reliable and cost-efficient methods poses a tremendous challenge. [9] Photovoltaics (PVs) harvest the sun's energy by directly converting photons into electricity without the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs). PV systems are reliable, silent (no moving parts), and operate on a zero-cost energy source. These advantages coupled with the falling prices of energy storage systems suggest that PV systems can provide a continuous supply of electricity for residential and commercial applications. [8,9] The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) can be used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of different energy sources. [10,11] For PV systems, LCOE denotes the discounted lifetime costs associated with the PV system installation divided by the discounted lifetime energy production of the system (typically ≈ 25 years). In sunny regions, the LCOE for utility-scale PV (29 $/MWh) now competes with electricity generated from conventional sources

Solution Deposition for Chalcogenide Perovskites: A Low-Temperature Route to BaMS3 Materials (M = Ti, Zr, Hf)

“…The inks for solution deposition of chalcogenide semiconductors can broadly be classified as using either molecular precursors or colloidal nanoparticles. 22,23 Soluble metal thiolates are convenient molecular precursors for a variety of metal sulfide materials. 24−26 These species can easily decompose into metal sulfides because they contain metal− sulfur bonding, eliminating the need for a separate sulfur source.…”

“…The inks for solution deposition of chalcogenide semiconductors can broadly be classified as using either molecular precursors or colloidal nanoparticles. , Soluble metal thiolates are convenient molecular precursors for a variety of metal sulfide materials. − These species can easily decompose into metal sulfides because they contain metal–sulfur bonding, eliminating the need for a separate sulfur source. Much of the work using metal thiolates for chalcogenide semiconductor synthesis has focused on late transition metals and post-transition metals, which can have dramatically different chemistries compared to the alkaline-earth and early transition metals.…”

11.4% Efficiency Kesterite Solar Cells on Transparent Electrode

“…Although inserting MoO 3 interface layer improves the crystallinity of the bottom layer of the CZTSSe absorber, the grain size near the back contact is still much smaller compared to that fabricated on Mo-based substrates. It is well known that one of the advantages of using Mo-coated soda lime glass (SLG) substrate as electrodes for chalcogenides-based thin film solar cells is that the pillared structure of Mo allows the diffusion of alkali ions, especially Na + ions from SLG to the absorber which facilitates grain growth by forming flux agent NaSe x , [25,26] passivates grain boundary defects, [27,28] and modifies surface roughness. [29] Na + has also been reported to assist the formation of MoSe 2 [30] and passivate defects [27,31] in CZTSSe.…”

The Importance of Synthesis Conditions: Structure–Processing–Property Relationships

“…We show that slight changes in processing conditions lead to significant changes in crystallization dynamics and consequently in the materials’ properties such as light emission. Methylammonium lead­(II) tribromide (MAPbBr 3 ) perovskite is used as a model material, as it can be easily solution-processed, is made of low-cost precursors, and has recently gained significant attention for photovoltaics, X-ray detectors, and light-emission applications. − The design of the experiment was in part prompted to present students with how basic inorganic chemistry concepts, such as crystallization, relate to cutting-edge scientific advances in materials chemistry.…”