Review of Recent Progress in Antimony Chalcogenide‐Based Solar Cells: Materials and Devices

Abstract

Antimony chalcogenides such as Sb2S3, Sb2Se3, and Sb2(SxSe1−x)3 have emerged as very promising alternative solar absorber materials due to their high stability, abundant elemental storage, nontoxicity, low‐cost, suitable tunable bandgap, and high absorption coefficient. Remarkable achievements have been made in antimony chalcogenide solar cells in the past few decades, with the power conversion efficiency (PCE) currently reaching 9.2%, which is close to the PCE level required for industrial applications. To facilitate the realization of highly efficient antimony chalcogenide solar cells in the future, a comprehensive review of antimony chalcogenide‐based materials and photovoltaic devices is presented. First, the fundamental physical properties and preparation methods of antimony chalcogenide‐based materials are outlined, and then, notable recent developments in antimony chalcogenide‐based photovoltaic devices with various architectures are highlighted. Finally, the most prominent limitations are described, and approaches to achieving remarkable advances in antimony chalcogenide solar cells in the future are provided.

Structure, Morphology, and Photoelectric Performances of Te-Sb2Se3 Thin Film Prepared via Magnetron Sputtering

“…The current most commercialized thin-film solar cells are copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) and cadmium telluride (CdTe). Their market share is continuously reducing, mainly due to the scarcity of indium and gallium and the toxicity of cadmium [ 1 , 2 ]. In addition, the complex composition of CIGS is an issue for industrial production.…”

Influence of Surface Modifier Molecular Structures on the Photovoltaic Performance of Sb2S3‐Sensitized TiO2 Nanorod Array Solar Cells

“…Sb 2 S 3 was an efficient absorber material that is used in solar cells as it offers the advantages of a suitable bandgap (1.7–1.8 eV), high absorption coefficient ( α > 10 4 cm −1 at 450 nm), excellent environmental stability, and Earth abundant . The preparation methods of Sb 2 S 3 and the architectures of the corresponding solar cells played an important role in the photovoltaic performance.…”

Thermoelectric Properties of Sb-S System Compounds from DFT Calculations

“…According to the phase diagram, the Sb 2 S 3 stibnite is the only condensed stable binary phase in the Sb-S binary system [ 11 , 12 ]. This compound has been largely investigated for photovoltaic [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ] and photocatalysis [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ] applications, its thermoelectric properties being much less studied [ 25 , 26 ]. A metastibnite mineral, which has the approximate composition of Sb 2 S 3 and contains metals in small amounts, has, however, been reported in the literature [ 27 , 28 , 29 ].…”