MXenes for Solar Cells

Abstract

Application of two-dimensional MXene materials in photovoltaics has attracted increasing attention since the first report in 2018 due to their metallic electrical conductivity, high carrier mobility, excellent transparency, tunable work function and superior mechanical property. In this review, all developments and applications of the Ti3C2Tx MXene (here, it is noteworthy that there are still no reports on other MXenes’ application in photovoltaics by far) as additive, electrode and hole/electron transport layer in solar cells are detailedly summarized, and meanwhile, the problems existing in the related studies are also discussed. In view of these problems, some suggestions are given for pushing exploration of the MXenes’ application in solar cells. It is believed that this review can provide a comprehensive and deep understanding into the research status and, moreover, helps widen a new situation for the study of MXenes in photovoltaics.

Recent Advances on MOF Derivatives for Non-Noble Metal Oxygen Electrocatalysts in Zinc-Air Batteries

“…Therefore, to eradicate the environmental issues, there is an urgent need to explore and develop new sustainable energy alternatives for the traditional non-renewable energy systems [ 2 – 4 ]. Hence, alternate electrochemical energy storage devices [ 5 ], such as fuel cells [ 6 – 11 ], lithium-ion batteries [ 12 , 13 ], solar cells [ 14 , 15 ], supercapacitors [ 16 – 18 ] and metal-air batteries [ 19 – 26 ] have been widely explored. Among these renewable sources, zinc-air batteries have attracted great attention due to their high specific energy density, environmental friendliness and safety [ 27 – 29 ].…”

A Brief Review of the Role of 2D Mxene Nanosheets toward Solar Cells Efficiency Improvement

“…Recently, this group used density functional calculations to further investigate the MAPbI 3 perovskite/Ti 3 C 2 T x -based MXene interface. When the relative concentrations of the OH, O, and F termination groups were changed, the findings indicate that the work function interface displays highly nonlinear behaviour, and they offer a profound insight into the alignment of the energy level for the manufacture of high-performance materials [ 15 ].…”

“…The overall PCE of the QDSC based on this composite CE is 5.11 percent, which is 1.5 times higher than that of a device with pure CuS CE. The combined benefits of the Ti 3 C 2 framework’s high conductivity and the numerous catalytically active centers of the CuS nanoparticles are mostly responsible for the improved performance [ 15 ].…”

“…The development of innovative materials for efficient solar cells has garnered a lot of attention [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ] because of the ever-increasing need for renewable and clean energy supplies [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Sunlight has been identified as the most prevalent, cheapest, and cleanest source of energy for meeting society’s long-term energy requirements.…”

Application of MXenes in Perovskite Solar Cells: A Short Review

“…In the last couple of years many groups have reported promising applications of Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene materials in perovskite solar cells. First discovered in 2011 by Gogotsi and coworkers, transition metal carbides or nitrides (MXenes) emerged as star materials and have shown promising applications in various fields such as energy storage [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ], catalysis [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ], health care [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ], defense [ 46 , 47 , 48 ], aerospace [ 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ] and electronics [ 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 ]. However, for solar cell applications this field is relatively new as the very first study of MXene materials in perovskite solar cell was reported in 2018, where Guo and group incorporated Ti 3 C 2 T x as an additive in the photoactive layer of methyl ammonium lead iodide (MAPbI 3 ) based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) [ 57 ].…”