Abstract
The integration of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy in zero-energy buildings requires durable and efficient solar windows composed of lightweight and semitransparent thin film solar cells. Inorganic materials with a high optical absorption coefficient, such as Sb2S3 (>105 cm−1 at 450 nm), offer semitransparency, appreciable efficiency, and long-term durability at low cost. Oxide-free throughout the Sb2S3 layer thickness, as confirmed by combined studies of energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and synchrotron soft X-ray emission spectroscopy, semitransparent Sb2S3 thin films can be rapidly grown in air by the area-scalable ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method. Integrated into a ITO/TiO2/Sb2S3/P3HT/Au solar cell, a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.5% at air mass 1.5 global (AM1.5G) is achieved, which is a record among spray-deposited Sb2S3 solar cells. An average visible transparency (AVT) of 26% of the back-contact-less ITO/TiO2/Sb2S3 solar cell stack in the wavelength range of 380–740 nm is attained by tuning the Sb2S3 absorber thickness to 100 nm. In scale-up from mm2 to cm2 areas, the Sb2S3 hybrid solar cells show a decrease in efficiency of only 3.2% for an 88 mm2 Sb2S3 solar cell, which retains 70% relative efficiency after one year of non-encapsulated storage. A cell with a PCE of 3.9% at 1 sun shows a PCE of 7.4% at 0.1 sun, attesting to the applicability of these solar cells for light harvesting under cloud cover.
Highlights
Modern buildings, especially high-rise buildings, have a large window area available for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV)
While the explanations for Semitransparent and oxide-free thin films of crystalline Sb2S3 were fabricated at low temperature using two steps, an initial non-vacuum growth by facile spray pyrolysis (USP) at 200 °C, followed by a low-temperature annealing in a non-oxygen containing environment at 170 °C
The feasibility of fabricating large-area lab-scale Sb2S3 solar cells by the ultrasonic chemical spray pyrolysis (USP) method is demonstrated by achieving a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.2% at 88 mm2 solar cell area, laying the foundation for further improvements in scalability
Summary
Especially high-rise buildings, have a large window area available for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). In addition to current BIPV technology, solar windows could provide advantageous features: they are mountable during construction, they promise an effective utilization of building space, as well as cost and weight savings, and about half of the building electricity demand can be produced on site [1]. Solar windows can be split into two groups: perforated grids of opaque solar cells, such as silicon, or one continuous semitransparent thin film solar cell (dye-sensitized, perovskite, quantum dot, etc.) [1]. Perforated solar windows, comprised of fragments of crystalline Si (c-Si) solar cells, have shown a tendency to overheat and underperform in efficiency (PCE) [2,3]. Thin film solar cells, even with lower PCE, are considered more promising for applications in solar windows [1,4]
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.
