Chalcopyrite solar cell for tandem applications, photocatalytic water splitting

• Japanese scientists have built a chalcopyrite PV device for tandem solar cells and water splitting for hydrogen generation. The tool has a power conversion performance of 11.05%, an open-circuit voltage of 0.960 V, a short-circuit current density of 15.9 mA centimeters − 2, and a fill element of 72.4%.

Researchers from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science as well as Technology (AIST) in Japan have actually produced a thin-film solar cell based upon chalcopyrite (CuGaSe2 or CGSe). They claim that it can be made use of as a wide-gap to cell in tandem tools or for water-splitting hydrogen generation.

CuGaSe2 has band-gap power of 1.7 eV. It has actually been made use of in solar cells with limited fill aspect as well as open-circuit voltage.

" A voltage equal to the theoretical decomposition voltage of 1.23 V is needed for water-splitting hydrogen generation," the researchers claimed.

The cell has a half-cell solar-to-hydrogen (HC-STH) conversion effectiveness of around 8%. They developed it with a CGSe photoabsorber layers with modified p-- n heterointerfaces. They grew the film via a standard three-stage process. They likewise transferred a cadmium sulfide (CdS) buffer layer with a small density of 120 nanometers (nm) to 150 nm on a soda lime glass (LGS) substratum through a chemical bathroom and done rubidium (Rb) doping during film growth, in order to improve the cell's fill aspect as well as open-circuit voltage.

" Supplying Rb during film development is more efficient than postdeposition treatment (PDT) at boosting the ternary CGSe solar performance," the scientists explained, noting that they likewise furnished the cell with anti-reflection coating (ARC).

With standard test problems, the scientists found that the champion cell accomplished a power conversion effectiveness of 11.05%, an open-circuit voltage of 0.960 V, a short-circuit existing density of 15.9 mA centimeters − 2, as well as a fill factor of 72.4%.

" We demonstrated right here that the user interface recombination could be reduced by controlling the copper-deficient phases present on the CGSe film surface," they claimed. "The simultaneous achievement of high open-circuit voltage as well as fill aspect by a CGSe/CdS heterointerface-based solar cell is additionally a notable result, although both values and also the solar performance could be improved even more."

The academics described the cell technology in "Enhanced Performance of Ternary CuGaSe2 Thin-Film Photovoltaic Solar Cells as well as Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Hydrogen Evolution with Modified p-- n Heterointerfaces," which was recently released in Advanced Materials Interfaces.