Abstract
Photovoltaics is a promising technology to produce sustainable energy, thanks to the high amount of energy emitted by the sun. One way of having solar cells with low production costs is to apply thin-film technology and with earth-abundant raw materials. A keen interest is arising in kesterite compounds, which are chalcogenides composed of abundant and non-toxic elements. They have already achieved excellent performance at the laboratory level. Here, we report the synthesis and characterization of mixed chalcogenides based on copper, zinc, iron, and tin. Solutions have been studied with different zinc and iron ratios. The distortion of the elementary cell of kesterite increases with the addition of iron until a phase transition to stannite occurs. The process of synthesis and deposition proposed herein is cheap and straightforward, based on the sol-gel technique. These thin films are particularly attractive for use in cheap and easily processable solar cells. The synthesized layers have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis absorption, and Raman, X-ray photoelectron, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurements.
Highlights
The most developed economies have been pushing toward the abandonment of fossil fuel technologies in favor of technologies that use renewable energy [1]
The CuIn1−x GaxSe2 (CIGS) thin film stands out in this family, being able to compete in efficiency with the well-established silicon technology [5]
CIGS has the disadvantage of being composed of indium and gallium, which are rare elements and not suitable for large-scale production [6]
Summary
The most developed economies have been pushing toward the abandonment of fossil fuel technologies in favor of technologies that use renewable energy [1]. One way for producing high-efficiency solar cells with low production costs is to employ thin-film technology, which uses nanometer- or micrometer-thick layers to build a device. In this scenario, quaternary chalcogenides have aroused great attention, above all, for the thickness of the solar cells, which is usually around 2μm. (CZTS), or by replacing zinc with iron and moving to the stannite phase structure Cu2 FeSnS4 (CFTS). Solution processing methods have proven to be very suitable to produce CZTS-based solar cells, though they require annealing in a sulfur vapor atmosphere to form the pure polycrystalline phase [15,18,19]. The 80% and 100% Fe thin films proved to be attractive for use in cheap and processable solar cells
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
