Issue 48, 2020

Highly efficient and thermally stable Sb2Se3 solar cells based on a hexagonal CdS buffer layer by environmentally friendly interface optimization

Abstract

For the first time, a hexagonal phase CdS (H-CdS) film fabricated by thermal evaporation is used as the buffer layer in Sb2Se3 solar cells. It is found that the interfacial recombination of Sb2Se3 solar cells based on a H-CdS film has decreased compared with the cubic CdS (C-CdS) film. Theoretical calculations also confirm that the dangling bond density of C-CdS/Sb2Se3 is 10 times larger than that of the H-CdS/Sb2Se3 interface. The efficiency of Sb2Se3 solar cells has been increased by 80%, which mainly resulted from the better spectral response, especially in the long wavelength (600–1000 nm) region. In addition, the introduction of oxygen at the surface of the H-CdS film can enhance the absorption in the short wavelength range (300–600 nm) and optimize the band structure of H-CdS/Sb2Se3 solar cells. Moreover, it is found that an optimum pre-heating time during Al2O3 deposition results in better carrier transport and collection. Finally, an Sb2Se3 solar cell having a 7.35% efficiency with high depletion width and current density is obtained based on an FTO/hexagonal-CdS/Sb2Se3/Al2O3/Au structure. To our surprise, the efficiency of H-CdS/Sb2Se3 solar cells at 200 °C in this structure can still be kept at above 95% of the original value. We believe that our work can serve as a guide for further development of highly efficient and stable CdS/Sb2Se3 solar cells.

Graphical abstract: Highly efficient and thermally stable Sb2Se3 solar cells based on a hexagonal CdS buffer layer by environmentally friendly interface optimization

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
24 Aug. 2020
Accepted
09 Nov. 2020
First published
11 Nov. 2020

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2020,8, 17194-17201

Highly efficient and thermally stable Sb2Se3 solar cells based on a hexagonal CdS buffer layer by environmentally friendly interface optimization

H. Guo, X. Jia, S. H. Hadke, J. Zhang, W. Wang, C. Ma, J. Qiu, N. Yuan, L. H. Wong and J. Ding, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2020, 8, 17194 DOI: 10.1039/D0TC04017G

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