Abstract

As a consequence of rising concern about the impact of fossil fuel-based energy on global warming and climate change, photovoltaic cell technology has advanced significantly in recent years as a sustainable source of energy. To date, photovoltaic cells have been split into four generations, with the first two generations accounting for the majority of the current market. First generation of thin-film technologies is based on monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon and gallium arsenide cells and includes well-known medium- or low-cost technologies with moderate yields, whereas, second generation includes devices with lower efficiency and manufacturing costs. Third generation is based on novel materials and has a wide range of design options, as well as expensive but highly efficient cells. However, fourth generation, also known as “inorganics-in-organics,” combines the low cost and flexibility of polymer thin films with the durability of innovative inorganic nanostructures (metal nanoparticles or metal oxides) in organic-based nanomaterials (carbon nanotubes, graphene, and their derivatives). The aim of this chapter was to highlight the current state of photovoltaic cell technology in terms of manufacturing materials and efficiency by providing a comprehensive overview of the four generations as well as the relevance of graphene and its derivatives in solar cell applications.

Highlights

  • The rapid growth of the world’s community and industrial area is leading to the great need for energy while renewable energy sources consumption such as geothermal, biomass, wind, and photovoltaic sources are challenging the planet’s survival having its adverse effects

  • In 1954, the p-n junction diode potential was discovered at Bells laboratory with the efficiency of 6% using silicon material [2], Thin Films Photovoltaics and the same work has been reported to make heterojunction solar cells based on Cu2S/CdS [3]

  • In the 1960s, the photovoltaic system for the first time was employed in commercial applications for space solar cells to deliver the power for satellite applications [4], and silicon semiconductor materials have been reported to be widely used in photovoltaic technology [5]

Read more

Summary

Introduction

The rapid growth of the world’s community and industrial area is leading to the great need for energy while renewable energy sources consumption such as geothermal, biomass, wind, and photovoltaic sources are challenging the planet’s survival having its adverse effects. In 1954, the p-n junction diode potential was discovered at Bells laboratory with the efficiency of 6% using silicon material [2], Thin Films Photovoltaics and the same work has been reported to make heterojunction solar cells based on Cu2S/CdS [3]. These diodes work on the phenomenon of generated voltages when sunlight falls on them. In spite of the extensive use of silicon semiconductor-based technology, it has a high cost, which is the main drawback of not using this technology for home-based device applications To overcome these challenging problems, researchers have put their efforts to replace silicon-based solar cells technology with the one having superior results [6]. Several researches show numerous classifications of materials, such as organic, inorganic, and hybrid materials, to potentially replace silicon materials from existing solar cells technology [7]

Overview of solar cell technology
Approaches to light trapping
Ergodic limit
Thin films
Solar cell generations
Fourth-generation photovoltaic solar cells
Graphene and graphene-doped solar cells
Principles of graphene-based solar cells
Graphene-silicon solar cells
Graphene-polymer solar cells
Graphene-quantum dot solar cells
Graphene-tandem solar cells
Graphene-perovskite solar cells
Graphene-organic solar cells
Graphene bulk-heterojunction solar cells
Future prospects
Findings
Concluding remarks
Full Text
Published version (Free)

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 call