Efficient PbS colloidal quantum dot solar cells employing Cu2O as hole transport layer

Abstract

The evolution and advancement of novel solar power technologies is considered to be a promising solution towards fulfilling the worldwide demand for energy and electricity. The ability to tune the bandgap by varying the size of the atom has made quantum dot solar cell a potential third generations solar cell device. Quantum dot solar cell has many advantages over other traditional solar cells such as low cost, high efficiency, miniaturization etc. Still the performance of quantum dot solar cells (QDSCs) falls behind due to the carrier recombination within the Quasi-neutral region (QNR). The ETL and HTL are the two-layer that highly impacts the performance of the quantum dot solar cell. Therefore, in this work, performance evaluation of PbS-EDT and Cu 2 O hole transport layer (HTL) is done, achieving a power conversion efficiency (PCE) equal to 15.93 %. The absorber layer used here is treated with tetrabutylammonium iodide (PbS-TBAI) and the electron transport layer (ETL) is TiO 2 . In the initial section of the work, device optimization is done, followed by an in-depth analysis on the doping densities of the ETL and HTL, then a resistance analysis is also presented to show the effect of resistance on the device, and at the end, a solar cell device is finalized with a doping density of 5 × 10 17 cm −3 for both (ETL and HTL) with the resistance value to be 1 Ohm.cm 2 for series and 10 6 Ohm.cm 2 for a shunt. All the work has been performed using the SCAPS-1D simulator.

A simulation study of quantum dot solar cells using two distinct ETL of WO3 and WS2

“…As the solar radiation falls on the solar cell device, the energy of the radiation gets engrossed by the active layer which generates charge carriers [19]. The absorber layer (Sb 2 Se 3 ), sandwiched between the electron transport layer (ETL) and hole transport layer (HTL) is the most important layer because it converts the light energy directly into electrical energy.…”

A Comparative Study of Quantum Dot Solar Cell with Two Different ETLs of WS2 and IGZO Using SCAPS-1D Simulator

“…The sun itself can fulfil the never-ending energy requirements of the entire world; however, nearly half of this energy is found in the infrared spectrum [1]. One of the advantages of QDSCs over other conventional solar cell is that the QDSCs makes the energy lie in the region of infrared.…”

“…Considering recent technological advancements and a growing population, one of the deliberate tasks entrusted to modern science and technology is to fulfil the demands of clean and free energy [1]. To minimize pollution produced by the widespread use of fossil fuels and to protect the earth's biosystems' biological cycles it is necessary to shift towards renewable sources of energy [2].…”

“…Therefore, the selection of materials that give higher PCE at a low cost is very important. Currently, TiO 2 is the most easily obtainable material for ETL, with a PCE of 13.94% when paired with a PbS-TBAI QDs absorber and PbS-EDT HTL [1,7]. In this study, we have modelled a device structure with an appropriate electron transport material (ETM) in order to develop an effective quantum dot solar cell.…”

Performance Enhancement of PbS‐TBAI Quantum Dot Solar Cell with MoTe2 as Hole Transport Layer

“…QD with a narrow bandgap, like CdTe, has been used to capture solar energy, but its supposed efficiencies are all quite low. [ 9 ] PbS is currently reported to be the best absorber material. HTL serves another important purpose by absorbing a hole after the electron–hole pair has been split from the absorber surface.…”