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

JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS

卷:890

Article

Rondiya, Sachin R.¹  Jadhav, Yogesh A.²  Zivkovic, Aleksandar³  Jathar, Sagar B.²  Rahane, Ganesh K.²  Cross, Russell W.¹  Rokade, Avinash, V²  Devan, Rupesh S.⁵  Kolekar, Sadhu²  Hoye, Robert L. Z.⁶  Ghosh, Hirendra N.⁷  de Leeuw, Nora H.^3,4  Jadkar, Sandesh R.²  Dzade, Nelson Y.¹ 

[1] Cardiff Univ, Sch Chem, Main Bldg,Pk Pl, Cardiff CF10 3AT, S Glam, Wales

[2] Savitribai Phule Pune Univ, Sch Energy Studies, Pune 411007, Maharashtra, India

[3] Univ Utrecht, Dept Earth Sci, Princetonlaan 8a, NL-3548 CB Utrecht, Netherlands

[4] Univ Leeds, Sch Chem, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9JT, W Yorkshire, England

[5] Indian Inst Technol Indore, Dept Met Engn & Mat Sci, Indore 453552, India

[6] Imperial Coll London, Dept Mat, Exhibit Rd, London SW7 2AZ, England

[7] Inst Nano Sci & Technol, Mohali 160062, Punjab, India

关键词: Cu2CdSnS4;    Solution-processed;    Phase transformation;    Cadmium substitution;    Liquid junction;    First-principles density functional theory;    Photovoltaic;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.161575

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

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 V-OC. 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 effects 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. (C) 2021 Published by Elsevier B.V.

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