Solar RRL最新文献

The stricter requirements for the energy performance of buildings are creating a market for several building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) technologies, including photovoltaic (PV) windows. Herein, an innovative multifunctional PV window concept designed to enhance energy generation while providing overheating protection for better indoor thermal and visual comfort is presented. This concept utilizes bifacial c-Si solar cell strips combined with venetian blinds, all embedded in a unique insulating glazing unit. The bifacial technology increases the energy yield by using the blinds as reflectors, directing more irradiance to the cells’ rear side. The goal of this study is to analyze the outdoor performance of this concept under real operating conditions. Twelve demonstrators are installed and monitored. Various measurement campaigns are conducted, examining the impact of different blind types, tilt angles, sun positions and sky conditions. The highest energy boosts occur when the blinds are fully closed at a 75° angle with their convex side facing outward. Blinds with the highest specular reflectance achieve a maximum performance increase of 25% on sunny days and a daily average increase of 12% compared to the case of no blinds.

Hydrogen energy from water splitting is considered the highly anticipated modern energy resource; however, storage and transportation require complex and high-cost facilities, which argue about the efficiency of hydrogen fuel compared to conventional fuels. Thereby, ammonia (NH₃), which is a liquid at ambient conditions, promises a lower cost of storage and transportation, but the production of ammonia imposes difficulties with selectivity and efficiency over several products and, notably, hydrogen evolution reaction. Among several methods combining the advantages of electrochemical and photocatalytic properties, the photoelectrochemical (PEC) method is destined to improve the efficiency of ammonia production from N₂ reduction reaction (NRR). Because of the multistep NRR process, enormous negative potentials, and poor reaction kinetics, the activity and selectivity of NRR are severely compromised. Therefore, Mo- and Bi-based catalysts are rationally developed to promote the activity and selectivity of NRR processes. Combining the benefits of Mo- and Bi-based catalysts is anticipated to result in highly effective PEC NRR activity. This review is predicted to emphasize the role and characteristics of PEC NRR and the value of Mo and Bi catalysts in raising ammonia's activity and selectivity.

Additives are commonly used to increase the performance of metal-halide perovskite solar cells, but detailed information on the origin of the beneficial outcome is often lacking. Herein, the effect of glycine hydrochloride is investigated when used as an additive during solution processing of narrow-bandgap mixed Pb–Sn perovskites. By combining the characterization of the photovoltaic performance and stability under illumination, with determining the quasi-Fermi level splitting, time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC), and morphological and elemental analysis a comprehensive insight is obtained. Glycine hydrochloride is able to retard the oxidation of Sn²⁺ in the precursor solution, and at low concentrations (1–2 mol%) it improves the grain size distribution and crystallization of the perovskite, causing a smoother and more compact layer, reducing non-radiative recombination, and enhancing the lifetime of photogenerated charges. These improve the photovoltaic performance and have a positive effect on stability. By determining the quasi-Fermi level splitting on perovskite layers without and with charge transport layers it is found that glycine hydrochloride primarily improves the bulk of the perovskite layer and does not contribute significantly to passivation of the interfaces of the perovskite with either the hole or electron transport layer (ETL).

Optical losses of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells can be effectively reduced by optimizing the thin-film layer thicknesses. Herein, the thicknesses of DC sputtered indium tin oxide (ITO) films, which serve as the front electrode and the recombination layer connecting the subcells, are optimized to reach high transparency and good lateral charge transport simultaneously. Optical simulations of the full perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell stacks are performed to find the optimum recombination and front electrode ITO thicknesses for solar cells as well as modules. Implementation of the optimized 25 nm front electrode ITO thickness in semitransparent single-junction perovskite solar cells increases the short-circuit density by 1.5 mA cm⁻² compared to the former reference thickness of 75 nm. Combined with an optimized 20 nm recombination ITO layer, high short-circuit density of 20.3 mA cm⁻² is reached in perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell devices, which is the highest reported value for planar front perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells to the best of knowledge. Further interface passivation enables 28.8% power conversion efficiency.

Herein, a straightforward vacuum-assisted method is introduced to enhance the stability of nonfullerene organic solar cells (OSCs). The method, termed “prevacuum” involves subjecting the active layer (D18:Y6) to a low-pressure vacuum (−1 bar) before thermal annealing at 100 °C. Compared to untreated devices, prevacuum-treated OSCs exhibit a notable increase in power conversion efficiency from 13.71% to 14.90%. This enhancement is attributed to improved light absorption and charge extraction, as evidenced by external quantum efficiency measurements. Moreover, prevacuum treatment significantly improves device stability under operational conditions, with a 30% power loss occurring after 8.25 h compared to 4.5 h for untreated devices. This improvement is attributed to the removal of volatile components and impurities during the vacuum process, leading to a more hydrophobic and stable active layer. The study demonstrates the efficacy of prevacuum treatment as a simple and accessible method for enhancing the performance and longevity of OSCs, paving the way for their broader application in sustainable energy technologies.

Antimony selenosulfide Sb₂(S_xSe_1−x)₃ is featured as a stable, environment-friendly, and low-cost light-harvesting material with a tunable bandgap in the range of 1.1–1.8 eV, satisfying the requirement of indoor photovoltaics (IPVs). Up to now, the certified efficiency of Sb₂(S_xSe_1−x)₃ solar cell with 1.45 eV bandgap has broken 10% under standard illumination (AM1.5G). However, this bandgap is not suitable for IPVs in terms of spectral matching. Herein, for the first time, the effect of optical bandgap of Sb₂(S_xSe_1−x)₃ on photovoltaic performance of the devices under AM1.5G and indoor light conditions is studied systematically. It is discovered that although an appropriate Se/S atomic ratio is beneficial for improving the crystallinity of Sb₂(S_xSe_1−x)₃ film and passivating the trap states, the band gap remains a key factor in determining the suitability of this material for IPVs. As a result, solar cells based on Sb₂S₃ with a large bandgap of 1.74 eV achieve an optimal efficiency of 20.34% under 1000 lux indoor illumination. Moreover, a high IPV efficiency of over 16% can still be maintained within a wide bandgap range from 1.5 to 1.7 eV, demonstrating the great potential of Sb-based chalcogenide as a light-harvesting material for IPVs.

Perovskite Solar Cells

In article number 2400172, Aamir Saeed, Liang Wang, Qingqing Miao give a comprehensive overview of the latest progress on wide bandgap perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with traditional narrow band gap cells such as silicon, perovskite, copper-indium-gallium-selenide, organic solar cells, cadmium telluride, and quantum dots. This review outlines the primary obstacles obstructing commercialization and elucidates the promising strategies that address these challenges, thus leading to the fabrication of state-of-the-art photovoltaics. The cover illustrates the harmonious unity of the universe, solar energy, the typical next generation solar cell technology based on PSCs.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted widespread attention due to their low cost and high efficiency. So far, a variety of single-junction PSCs have been successfully developed and considered for commercialization, including normal PSCs (N-PSCs), inverted PSCs (I-PSCs), and carbon-based PSCs (C-PSCs) without hole transporter. Herein, the material cost, equipment depreciation cost, and energy consumption of these three types of PSCs (1 m²) in detail are analyzed. As indicated, the total fabrication cost of the N-PSCs ($86.49) and I-PSCs ($81.31) is very close, but is significantly reduced to $41.16 for the C-PSCs (49%–52% reduction) because carbon electrode is much cheaper than noble metal electrode and organic hole transporter. Besides, only a low-cost slot-die coating process with low energy consumption is needed for the deposition of carbon electrode, while the expensive physical vapor deposition and reactive plasma deposition processes with high energy consumption are needed for the deposition of the noble metal electrode and organic hole transporter.

High-bandgap Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) thin film solar cells on transparent electrodes show favorable characteristics for new photovoltaic application scenarios including building-integrated photovoltaics, vehicle-integrated photovoltaics, and top cell for tandem structure. However, the efficiency of pure sulfide kesterite CZTS thin film solar cells on transparent substrates lags behind that on traditional Mo substrates. Herein, fabrication of high-quality CZTS absorber films and efficient solar cells on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates from dimethyl sulfoxide solution is reported. The formation of harmful secondary phases in CZTS film is suppressed by simply adjusting the chemical stoichiometry in the precursor solution, leading to the development of 5.88% CZTS solar cells. Sodium (Na) doping further promotes grain growth and suppresses secondary phase, contributing to the reduced interface recombination and improved device performance. A champion device with an efficiency of 8.36% has been achieved with 1% Na doping, underscoring the significance of the solution process in achieving highly efficient kesterite solar cells on transparent electrodes.