首页|Solution-processed Cd-substituted CZTS nanocrystals for sensitized liquid junction solar cells

Solution-processed Cd-substituted CZTS nanocrystals for sensitized liquid junction solar cells

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The Earth-abundant kesterite Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) exhibits outstanding structural, optical, and electronic properties for a wide range of optoelectronic applications. However, the efficiency of CZTS thin-film solar cells is limited due to a range of factors, including electronic disorder, secondary phases, and the presence of anti-site defects, which is a key factor limiting the Voc. The complete substitution of Zn lattice sites in CZTS nanocrystals (NCs) with Cd atoms offers a promising approach to overcome several of these intrinsic limitations. Herein, we investigate the e?ects of substituting Cd2+ into Zn2+ lattice sites in CZTS NCs through a facile solution-based method. The structural, morphological, optoelectronic, and power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of the NCs synthesized have been systematically characterized using various experimental techniques, and the results are corroborated by first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The successful substitution of Zn by Cd is demonstrated to induce a structural transformation from the kesterite phase to the stannite phase, which results in the bandgap reduction from 1.51 eV (kesterite) to 1.1 eV (stannite), which is closer to the optimum bandgap value for outdoor photovoltaic applications. Furthermore, the PCE of the novel Cd-substituted liquid junction solar cell underwent a four-fold increase, reaching 1.1%. These results highlight the importance of substitutional doping strategies in optimizing existing CZTS-based materials to achieve improved device characteristics.

Cadmium substitutionCu2CdSnS4First-principles density functional theoryLiquid junctionPhase transformationPhotovoltaicSolution-processed

Rondiya S.R.、Cross R.W.、Dzade N.Y.、Jadhav Y.A.、Jathar S.B.、Rahane G.K.、Rokade A.V.、Kolekar S.、Jadkar S.R.、Zivkovic A.、de Leeuw N.H.、Devan R.S.、Hoye R.L.Z.、Ghosh H.N.

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School of Chemistry Cardiff University Main Building Park Place

School of Energy Studies Savitribai Phule Pune University

Department of Earth Sciences Utrecht University

Department of Metallurgy Engineering & Materials Science Indian Institute of Technology Indore

Department of Materials Imperial College London

Institute of Nano Science and Technology

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2022

Journal of Alloys and Compounds

Journal of Alloys and Compounds

EISCI
ISSN:0925-8388
年,卷(期):2022.890
  • 7
  • 82