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A team of Italian researchers claims to be the first to manufacture solar modules based on a light absorber based on stable antimony in air, without lead or tin, a material inspired by perovskite. The minimodules have a power conversion efficiency of 1.2% in an active area of ??2.52 cm2.
Researchers from Tor Vergata University and the Italian National Research Council have developed for the first time stable solar modules in air based on photovoltaic cells with an antimony (Sb) absorbing material.
“There has been increasing research into alternatives to lead (Pb) and tin (Sn)-free perovskite, but we were surprised that only single cells had been described so far, so we focused on manufacturing modules with commercially available equipment. . The fact that the Sb-based solar cells we developed had good thermal and air stability allowed us to perform all modeling steps in air,” Thomas M. Brown, lead author of the research, told pv magazine .
“The key property of the antimony-based perovskite-inspired materials we have developed is stability, especially compared to other lead-free alternatives,” he added. “Consequently, improving efficiency should become the primary goal of Sb-based technology, while stability should be the primary goal of Sn-based devices.”
According to the research group, the cells withstood thermal stability tests of up to 85 C in air and the three laser shaping steps P1, P2 and P3 could be performed outside the glove box, simplifying the manufacturing phase. The key to the results were two cations in the precursor mixture.
The solar cells were fabricated from MAxCs3-xSb2I3Cl6 using a one-step spin-coating solution process. Methylammonium (MA) and cesium (Cs) mixed double cation Sb cell stacks were fabricated with fluorine-doped compact titanium oxide (TiO2), mesoporous TiO2, the MAxCs3-xSb2I3Cl6 absorber, a fabricated hole transport layer with conventional Spiro-OMeTAD and a gold (Au) metal contact.
The cells achieved a power conversion efficiency of 1.5% and their long-term stability increased by 60%, with a loss of only 10% after about 1,800 h of aging in air, according to the researchers. The mini solar modules built with these cells reached an efficiency of 1.2% in an active area of ??2.52 cm2.
The group plans to investigate the application of the technology to indoor solar cells and panels. “This is because we have shown that perovskite technology has high potential for light harvesting in indoor environments since the band gaps suitable for semiconductors have to be larger under artificial lighting, which opens the possibility of even use antimony-based perovskites for this purpose,” Brown said.
Looking ahead, the research team plans to reduce the bandgap of the device by adjusting the perovskite composition, crystallization rate, minimizing defects by introducing additives, and optimizing energy level matching and passivation. of defects through interface engineering.
Their findings are presented in the paper “ Air-Stable Lead-Free Antimony-Based Perovskite Inspired Solar Cells and Modules,” published in ACS Energy Letters. . |
