Recent Progress in Materials and Device Design for Semitransparent Photovoltaic Technologies

Abstract

Semitransparent photovoltaic (STPV) solar cells offer an immense opportunity to expand the scope of photovoltaics to special applications such as windows, facades, skylights, and so on. These new opportunities have encouraged researchers to develop STPVs using traditional thin‐film solar cell technologies (amorphous‐Si, CdTe, and CIGS or emerging solar cells (organic, perovskites, and dye‐sensitized). There are considerable improvements in both power conversion efficiency (PCE) and semitransparency of these STPV devices. This review studies the device structure of state‐of‐the‐art STPV devices and thereby analyzes the different approaches toward maximizing the product of PCE and average visible transmittance. The origins of PCE losses during the opaque‐to‐semitransparent transition in the different STPV technologies are discussed. In addition, critical practical aspects relevant to all STPV devices, such as compatibility of the top transparent electrode with the device structure, buffer layer optimization, light management engineering, scale‐up, and stability, are also reported. This overview is expected to facilitate researchers across different technologies to identify and overcome the challenges toward achieving higher light utilization efficiencies in STPVs.

Advancements in Photovoltaic Cell Materials: Silicon, Organic, and Perovskite Solar Cells

“…CIGS solar cells also offer aesthetic advantages, with their uniform surface and the ability to customize their appearance through various deposition techniques [ 59 ]. This makes CIGS particularly suitable for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs), where solar cells can be seamlessly integrated into architectural elements such as facades, roofing materials, and windows [ 59 ].…”

“…CIGS solar cells also offer aesthetic advantages, with their uniform surface and the ability to customize their appearance through various deposition techniques [ 59 ]. This makes CIGS particularly suitable for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs), where solar cells can be seamlessly integrated into architectural elements such as facades, roofing materials, and windows [ 59 ]. The potential for color customization, without significant loss in efficiency, allows for architectural designs that incorporate renewable energy solutions without compromising aesthetic values [ 59 ].…”

Alkoxy-Substituted Anthrabisthiadiazole–Benzodithiophene-Based Wide-Band-Gap Semiconducting Polymers for High-Performance Non-Fullerene Solar Cells

“…Due to their significant advantages, including lightweight, semitransparency, high mechanical flexibility, low cost, and the potential for large-area solar panel production, organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have garnered considerable interest among chemists and physicists. − Over the past 7 years, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of OPVs has reached 19% in single junction solar cells, thanks to the development of a wide variety of semiconducting polymers and small-molecular semiconductors. − Notably, the contribution of low-band-gap small-molecular electron acceptors (SMAs) developed as soluble fullerene derivatives has been remarkable, significantly improving the PCE of OPVs. − In recent years, non-fullerene OPVs, consisting of a wide-band-gap semiconducting polymer and a low-band-gap SMA, have gained widespread recognition as a promising approach for developing high-performance OPVs. − For instance, the complementary absorption of two photoactive materials with different spectral ranges can efficiently harvest sunlight, leading to a high short-circuit current density ( J sc ) in OPVs. Moreover, diverse molecular designs to tune the electronic properties of polymer donors and SMAs can offer a high open-circuit voltage ( V oc ) and minimal energy loss ( E loss ) in fabricated non-fullerene OPVs.…”

Improved performance of ternary organic solar cells based on both bulk and pseudo-planar heterojunction active layer

“…Organic solar cells (OSCs) as a kind of clean energy device have the advantages of non-toxicity, flexible, simple preparation and large-area preparation [1][2][3][4]. In the few past decades, the highest photovoltaic conversion efficiency (PCE) of the single-junction OSCs reached 19% with the continuous * Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.…”