Engineering electrospun of in-situ plasmonic AgNPs onto PANI@PVDF nanofibrous scaffold as back surface support for enhancing silicon solar cells efficiency with the electrical model assessment

Abstract

Fabrication of polymeric nanofibrous structures with superior electronic properties is a big challenge for producing durable and renewable energy. The influence of conducting polymer nanofibers embedded metal nanoparticles is essential for improving the performance of Silicon Solar Cell (SSC). Herein, rapid in-situ silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were entrapped during polymerized pure polyaniline (PANI) to exhibit PANI/AgNPs nanocomposites. Then, PANI and/or PANI/AgNPs electrospun with Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) and deposited on the rear surface of SSCs by electrospinning technique. The surface texture was tested with SEM, and the diameter of nanofibers onto solar cells is below 150 ± 23 nm for all nanocomposites. Owing to the ultrathin diameter of nanofibers, the doped constituent of Ag 3% possesses elevation in the performance of SSCs at a light intensity of 100 mW/cm2 concerning cell temperature 25–27°C. At specific content of coated nanofibrous PANI/AgNPs (3 wt%) @PVDF, the SSCs power conversion efficiency (PCE) attains 15.75% rather than the uncoated solar cell (14.03%). Besides, the series resistance decreased by 12.62%, consequently increasing efficiency and maximum power by 12.25% and 12.71%, respectively. The bandgap of PANI/AgNPs (3 wt%) @PVDF was 3.15 eV, which highly affected the performance of SSCs. This facile plasmonic nanofibrous combination offers homogenous distribution onto SSCs with a favorable conductivity path for the photoelectrons based on the nanofibers' surface-to-volume ratio, enabling excellent candidates in energy applications. An optimized single diode model is considered to assess the electrical performance of the controlled and modified SSCs.