Advancement in CdIn2Se4/CdTe Based Photoelectrochemical Solar Cells

Abstract

Many binary and ternary chalcogenide semiconductor materials (viz CdS, CdSe, CdTe, CdZnTe, CuInS2, CuInSe2, Bi2CdS4, CdIn2Se4, etc.) have been used to develop photoelectrochemical (PEC) solar cells for the sustained and efficient capture of solar energy conversion. Because thin-film solar cell technologies are a capable tactic for global and planetary-photovoltaics and offer a wide variability of picks in terms of device designing and fabrication. Cadmium indium selenide (CdIn2Se4) has obtained very little consideration as a potential material for photoelectrochemical cells. The manufacturing of thin-film-based heterojunction solar cells done by using some chemical and physical techniques such as sputtering, pulsed laser deposition, and evaporation. In spray pyrolysis technique (Fig. 1), a desired equimolar aqueous solution of cadmium chloride, indium trichloride, and selenourea in appropriate volumes can be taken onto preheated substrates (amorphous or conducting substrates viz. ITO, FTO, quartz, etc.). The preparative parameters (substrate temperature, solution concentration, quantity of solution) should be optimized by a PEC method in order to get high-quality stoichiometric films. The optimization of preparative parameters of the photoactive semiconducting electrode by the photoelectrochemical method is a new, reliable, and unique technique in the field of thin-film technology. So, this chapter deals with the preparation of cadmium indium chalcogenide thin films from aqueous medium by cost-effective and simple spray pyrolysis and consequently use of these films in heterojunction solar cell applications. It also extensively describes the physiochemical properties of CdIn2Se4 thin film as a potential window layer to the photoelectrochemical solar cells.