Issue 37, 2013

Cu3MCh3 (M = Sb, Bi; Ch = S, Se) as candidate solar cell absorbers: insights from theory

Abstract

As the thin film photovoltaic sector continues to expand, there is an emerging need to base these technologies on abundant, low cost materials in place of the expensive, rare, or toxic elements such as Te, In, or Cd that currently constitute the industry standards. To this end, the geometric and electronic structure of four materials comprising low cost, earth abundant elements (Cu3SbS3, Cu3SbSe3, Cu3BiS3, and Cu3BiSe3) are investigated with the screened hybrid exchange–correlation functional HSE06 and their candidacy for use as absorber materials assessed. The materials are shown to exhibit low VBM effective masses, due partially to the presence of lone pairs that originate from the Sb and Bi states. Although all four materials possess indirect fundamental band gaps, calculated optical absorbance shows direct transitions close in energy. Optical band gaps within the visible-light spectrum are also predicted for three of the systems, (Cu3SbSe3, Cu3BiS3 and Cu3BiSe3) making them promising candidates for PV applications.

Graphical abstract: Cu3MCh3 (M = Sb, Bi; Ch = S, Se) as candidate solar cell absorbers: insights from theory

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 Jun 2013
Accepted
15 Jul 2013
First published
17 Jul 2013

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013,15, 15477-15484

Cu3MCh3 (M = Sb, Bi; Ch = S, Se) as candidate solar cell absorbers: insights from theory

A. B. Kehoe, D. J. Temple, G. W. Watson and D. O. Scanlon, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, 15, 15477 DOI: 10.1039/C3CP52482E

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