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Nanomaterials
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Nanostructures for Solar Cells and Photovoltaics
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Nanostructures for Solar Cells and Photovoltaics

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy and Catalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2020) | Viewed by 18053

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Ashraf Uddin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Interests: organic solar cells; photovoltaic device physics, design and characterisation; dye-sensitised solar cells; organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite photovoltaics; new concepts of photovoltaics; semi-transparent photovoltaics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This is a Special Issue of the open access journal Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). Our aim is to bring together and share the latest views and past opinions as well as the current developments in nanostructured photovoltaic materials and thin-film solar cells, such as organic solar cells, perovskite solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells, CdTe, Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 (CIGS) solar cells, quantum dot solar cells, and new concepts in the field of thin-film solar cell materials and devices. The objective of this Special Issue is to provide critical understanding for thin-film solar cells materials and device engineering to advance the photovoltaic technology. A device physics, including exciton dissociation, carrier extraction, and recombination, is strongly influenced by its nanostructure. Research in various fabrication methods and their influence on the device physics has also provided insights on how to increase efficiency limits. Additionally, the synthesis of solar cells by solution-based methods or fabrication pathways using less traditional, abundant materials can be identified as a promising route to wide-scale photovoltaic applications. We intend to publish original research results that are of primary interest to photovoltaic specialists. We hope you can join us by contributing critical reviews and/or original research articles to this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Ashraf Uddin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Solar cells
  • Organic solar cells
  • Perovskite solar cells
  • CIGS solar cells
  • dye-sensitized solar cells
  • CdTe solar cells
  • Nanostructure materials
  • Device physics

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 1783 KiB  
Article
Optimising Non-Patterned MoO3/Ag/MoO3 Anode for High-Performance Semi-Transparent Organic Solar Cells towards Window Applications
by Lichun Chang, Leiping Duan, Ming Sheng, Jun Yuan, Haimang Yi, Yingping Zou and Ashraf Uddin
Nanomaterials 2020, 10(9), 1759; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10091759 - 6 Sep 2020
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 4686
Abstract
Semi-transparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) have attracted significant research attention, as they have strong potential to be applied in automobiles and buildings. For ST-OSCs, the transparent top electrode is an indispensable component, where the dielectric/metal/dielectric (D/M/D) structured electrode displayed a promising future due [...] Read more.
Semi-transparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) have attracted significant research attention, as they have strong potential to be applied in automobiles and buildings. For ST-OSCs, the transparent top electrode is an indispensable component, where the dielectric/metal/dielectric (D/M/D) structured electrode displayed a promising future due to its simplicity in the fabrication. In this work, by using the MoO3-/Ag-/MoO3-based D/M/D transparent electrode, we fabricated ST-OSCs based on the PM6:N3 active layer for the first time. In the device fabrication, the D/M/D transparent electrode was optimised by varying the thickness of the outer MoO3 layer. As a result, we found that increasing the thickness of the outer MoO3 layer can increase the average visible transmittance (AVT) but decrease the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the device. The outer MoO3 layer with a 10 nm thickness was found as the optimum case, where its corresponding device showed the PCE of 9.18% with a high AVT of 28.94%. Moreover, the colour perception of fabricated ST-OSCs was investigated. All semi-transparent devices exhibited a neutral colour perception with a high colour rendering index (CRI) over 90, showing great potential for the window application. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructures for Solar Cells and Photovoltaics)
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9 pages, 34398 KiB  
Article
Self-Alignment of Bottom CZTSSe by Patterning of an Al2O3 Intermediate Layer
by Sanghun Hong, Se-Yun Kim, Dae-Ho Son, Seung-Hyun Kim, Young-Ill Kim, Kee-Jeong Yang, Young-Woo Heo, Jin-Kyu Kang and Dae-Hwan Kim
Nanomaterials 2020, 10(1), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10010043 - 23 Dec 2019
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3109
Abstract
When CZTSSe is synthesized using a metal precursor, large voids of nonuniform size form at Mo back contact side. Herein, we demonstrate that the voids and CZTSSe in the lower part of the CZTSSe double layer can be controlled by using an Al [...] Read more.
When CZTSSe is synthesized using a metal precursor, large voids of nonuniform size form at Mo back contact side. Herein, we demonstrate that the voids and CZTSSe in the lower part of the CZTSSe double layer can be controlled by using an Al2O3-patterned Mo substrate. The CZTSSe in the lower part self-aligns on the Mo-exposed area, while the voids self-align on the Al2O3-coated area. The origin of the self-alignment is expected to be the difference in bonding characteristics between liquid Sn and the metal or oxide surface, e.g., Al2O3. Good wettability generally forms between nonreactive liquid metals and metal surfaces due to the strong metallic bonding. By contrast, poor wettability generally forms between nonreactive liquid metals and oxide surfaces due to the weak van der Waals bonding between the liquid metal and the oxide layer. When the patterning was added, the device efficiency tended to decrease from 8.6% to 10.5%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructures for Solar Cells and Photovoltaics)
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8 pages, 2708 KiB  
Article
Controlled Growth of BiSI Nanorod-Based Films through a Two-Step Solution Process for Solar Cell Applications
by Yong Chan Choi and Eunjeong Hwang
Nanomaterials 2019, 9(12), 1650; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano9121650 - 20 Nov 2019
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4683
Abstract
Pb-based hybrid perovskite solar cells, despite their advantages, face challenges in commercialization. In recent years, Bi-based chalcohalides are being considered as potential alternative candidates, however, their current device efficiency remains unsatisfactory. Herein, a two-step solution method is developed and applied to the fabrication [...] Read more.
Pb-based hybrid perovskite solar cells, despite their advantages, face challenges in commercialization. In recent years, Bi-based chalcohalides are being considered as potential alternative candidates, however, their current device efficiency remains unsatisfactory. Herein, a two-step solution method is developed and applied to the fabrication of BiSI films. The method consists of the formation of Bi2S3 (step I) and its conversion to BiSI (step II). The Bi2S3 was fabricated by a thiol-amine solution process and the BiSI conversion was achieved by chemical reaction between the as-formed Bi2S3 and BiI3. It was found that the formation of BiSI was highly dependent on the Bi:S molar ratio of the Bi2O3-thiourea solution and the number of times of step I. The as-fabricated BiSI film had an optical band gap of 1.61 eV and exhibited nanorod morphology. In addition, the electronic structure is explored and discussed for solar cells applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructures for Solar Cells and Photovoltaics)
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Review

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15 pages, 8409 KiB  
Review
Recent Progress in Fabrication of Antimony/Bismuth Chalcohalides for Lead-Free Solar Cell Applications
by Yong Chan Choi and Kang-Won Jung
Nanomaterials 2020, 10(11), 2284; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10112284 - 18 Nov 2020
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 4968
Abstract
Despite their comparable performance to commercial solar systems, lead-based perovskite (Pb-perovskite) solar cells exhibit limitations including Pb toxicity and instability for industrial applications. To address these issues, two types of Pb-free materials have been proposed as alternatives to Pb-perovskite: perovskite-based and non-perovskite-based materials. [...] Read more.
Despite their comparable performance to commercial solar systems, lead-based perovskite (Pb-perovskite) solar cells exhibit limitations including Pb toxicity and instability for industrial applications. To address these issues, two types of Pb-free materials have been proposed as alternatives to Pb-perovskite: perovskite-based and non-perovskite-based materials. In this review, we summarize the recent progress on solar cells based on antimony/bismuth (Sb/Bi) chalcohalides, representing Sb/Bi non-perovskite semiconductors containing chalcogenides and halides. Two types of ternary and quaternary chalcohalides are described, with their classification predicated on the fabrication method. We also highlight their utility as interfacial layers for improving other solar cells. This review provides clues for improving the performances of devices and design of multifunctional solar systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructures for Solar Cells and Photovoltaics)
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