1
|
Marasamy L, Rasu Chettiar AD, Manisekaran R, Linda E, Rahman MF, Hossain MK, Pérez García CE, Santos-Cruz J, Subramaniam V, de Moure Flores F. Impact of selenization with NaCl treatment on the physical properties and solar cell performance of crack-free Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 microcrystal absorbers. RSC Adv 2024; 14:4436-4447. [PMID: 38312721 PMCID: PMC10835762 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra05829h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
In this study, we developed an ink using hexanethiol and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 microcrystals (CIGSe MCs) to make thin films via doctor blade coating. Besides, crack-free thin films were obtained by optimizing CIGSe MC powder concentration and annealing temperature. Subsequently, single-step selenization was performed with and without sodium chloride (NaCl) surface treatment by carefully tuning the temperature. A crack-free surface with densely packed grains was obtained at 500 °C after NaCl treatment. Moreover, the structural parameters of the thin film (annealed at 350 °C) were significantly modified via selenization with NaCl at 500 °C. For instance, the FWHM of the prominent (112) plane reduced from 1.44° to 0.47°, the dislocation density minimized from 13.10 to 1.40 × 1015 lines per m2, and the microstrain decreased from 4.14 to 1.35 × 10-3. Remarkably, these thin films exhibited a high mobility of 26.7 cm2 V-1 s-1 and a low resistivity of 0.03 Ω cm. As a proof of concept, solar cells were engineered with a device structure of SLG/Mo/CIGSe/CdS/i-ZnO/Al-ZnO/Ag, wherein a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.74% was achieved with exceptional reproducibility. Consequently, the outcomes of this investigation revealed the impact of selenization temperature and NaCl treatment on the physical properties and PCE of hexanethiol-based crack-free CIGSe MC ink-coated absorbers, providing new insights into the groundwork of cost-effective solar cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Latha Marasamy
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ) Santiago de Querétaro Querétaro C.P. 76010 Mexico
| | - Aruna-Devi Rasu Chettiar
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ) Santiago de Querétaro Querétaro C.P. 76010 Mexico
| | - Ravichandran Manisekaran
- Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory (LII), Nanostructures and Biomaterials Area, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad León, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Predio el Saucillo y el Potrero Comunidad de los Tepetates León C.P. 37684 Mexico
| | - Evangeline Linda
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ) Santiago de Querétaro Querétaro C.P. 76010 Mexico
| | - Md Ferdous Rahman
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Advanced Energy Materials and Solar Cell Research Laboratory, Begum Rokeya University Rangpur 5400 Bangladesh
| | - M Khalid Hossain
- Institute of Electronics, Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission Dhaka 1349 Bangladesh
| | - Claudia Elena Pérez García
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ) Santiago de Querétaro Querétaro C.P. 76010 Mexico
| | - José Santos-Cruz
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ) Santiago de Querétaro Querétaro C.P. 76010 Mexico
| | - Velumani Subramaniam
- J. Mike Walker '66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University Texas 77843 USA
| | - Francisco de Moure Flores
- Facultad de Química, Materiales-Energía, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ) Santiago de Querétaro Querétaro C.P. 76010 Mexico
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Guo T, Ge J, Jiao Y, Teng Y, Sun B, Huang W, Asgarimoghaddam H, Musselman KP, Fang Y, Zhou YN, Wu YA. Intelligent matter endows reconfigurable temperature and humidity sensations for in-sensor computing. MATERIALS HORIZONS 2023; 10:1030-1041. [PMID: 36692087 DOI: 10.1039/d2mh01491b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Data-centric tactics with in-sensor computing go beyond the conventional computing-centric tactic that is suffering from processing latency and excessive energy consumption. The multifunctional intelligent matter with dynamic smart responses to environmental variations paves the way to implement data-centric tactics with high computing efficiency. However, intelligent matter with humidity and temperature sensitivity has not been reported. In this work, a design is demonstrated based on a single memristive device to achieve reconfigurable temperature and humidity sensations. Opposite temperature sensations at the low resistance state (LRS) and high resistance state (HRS) were observed for low-level sensory data processing. Integrated devices mimicking intelligent electronic skin (e-skin) can work in three modes to adapt to different scenarios. Additionally, the device acts as a humidity-sensory artificial synapse that can implement high-level cognitive in-sensor computing. The intelligent matter with reconfigurable temperature and humidity sensations is promising for energy-efficient artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tao Guo
- Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, and Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
| | - Jiawei Ge
- Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, and Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
- College of Materials Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technology for Energy Conversion, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, 210016, China
| | - Yixuan Jiao
- Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, and Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
| | - Youchao Teng
- Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, and Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
| | - Bai Sun
- Frontier Institute of Science and Technology (FIST), Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 28, Xianning West Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710049, P. R. China
| | - Wen Huang
- New Energy Technology Engineering Laboratory of Jiangsu Province, School of Science, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China
- State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Hatameh Asgarimoghaddam
- Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, and Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
| | - Kevin P Musselman
- Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, and Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
| | - Yin Fang
- School of Chemical and Biomedical engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Y Norman Zhou
- Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, and Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
| | - Yimin A Wu
- Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, and Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Gonçalves BF, Martins PM, LaGrow AP, Botelho G, Salonen LM, Lanceros-Méndez S, Kolen'ko YV. Large-scale aqueous synthesis of Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin. Dalton Trans 2021; 50:16819-16828. [PMID: 34775504 DOI: 10.1039/d1dt03557f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Environmentally friendly synthesis of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) nanoparticles (NPs) is pivotal for producing sustainable photocatalytic compounds to be applied in the remediation of contaminants of emerging concern from water. To this end, we herein report an aqueous synthesis of CIGS NPs, followed by annealing, to give access to phase-pure CIGS crystals with chalcopyrite structure and no signs of secondary phases. Morphological and compositional characterization revealed NPs with an average size of 10-35 nm and uniform distribution of Cu, In, Ga, and Se elements. In addition, the first aqueous large-scale synthesis of CIGS NPs is developed by up-scaling the synthesis procedure, resulting in 5 g of highly crystalline nanoparticles exhibiting an ideal optical band gap of 1.14 eV. The as-synthesized NPs proved the ability to remove 71 and 83% of a contaminant of emerging concern, ciprofloxacin (CIP), under ultraviolet (UV) and visible (Vis) radiations, respectively.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bruna F Gonçalves
- International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Braga 4715-330, Portugal. .,Center of Physics, University of Minho, Braga 4710-057, Portugal.,Center of Chemistry, University of Minho, Braga 4710-057, Portugal
| | - Pedro M Martins
- Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal.,IB-S-Institute for Research and Innovation on Bio-Sustainability, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
| | - Alec P LaGrow
- International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Braga 4715-330, Portugal.
| | - Gabriela Botelho
- Center of Chemistry, University of Minho, Braga 4710-057, Portugal
| | - Laura M Salonen
- International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Braga 4715-330, Portugal.
| | - Senentxu Lanceros-Méndez
- Center of Physics, University of Minho, Braga 4710-057, Portugal.,BCMaterials, Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, UPV/EHU Science Park, 48940 Leioa, Spain.,Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
| | - Yury V Kolen'ko
- International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Braga 4715-330, Portugal.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Gonçalves BF, LaGrow AP, Pyrlin S, Owens-Baird B, Botelho G, Marques LSA, Ramos MMD, Kovnir K, Lanceros-Mendez S, Kolen’ko YV. Large-Scale Synthesis of Semiconducting Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 Nanoparticles for Screen Printing Application. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 11:1148. [PMID: 33925010 PMCID: PMC8147049 DOI: 10.3390/nano11051148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2021] [Revised: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
During the last few decades, the interest over chalcopyrite and related photovoltaics has been growing due the outstanding structural and electrical properties of the thin-film Cu(In,Ga)Se2 photoabsorber. More recently, thin film deposition through solution processing has gained increasing attention from the industry, due to the potential low-cost and high-throughput production. To this end, the elimination of the selenization procedure in the synthesis of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 nanoparticles with following dispersion into ink formulations for printing/coating deposition processes are of high relevance. However, most of the reported syntheses procedures give access to tetragonal chalcopyrite Cu(In,Ga)Se2 nanoparticles, whereas methods to obtain other structures are scarce. Herein, we report a large-scale synthesis of high-quality Cu(In,Ga)Se2 nanoparticles with wurtzite hexagonal structure, with sizes of 10-70 nm, wide absorption in visible to near-infrared regions, and [Cu]/[In + Ga] ≈ 0.8 and [Ga]/[Ga + In] ≈ 0.3 metal ratios. The inclusion of the synthesized NPs into a water-based ink formulation for screen printing deposition results in thin films with homogenous thickness of ≈4.5 µm, paving the way towards environmentally friendly roll-to-roll production of photovoltaic systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bruna F. Gonçalves
- International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, 4715-330 Braga, Portugal; (B.F.G.); (A.P.L.)
- Center of Physics, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; (S.P.); (L.S.A.M.); (M.M.D.R.); (S.L.-M.)
- Center of Chemistry, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal;
| | - Alec P. LaGrow
- International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, 4715-330 Braga, Portugal; (B.F.G.); (A.P.L.)
| | - Sergey Pyrlin
- Center of Physics, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; (S.P.); (L.S.A.M.); (M.M.D.R.); (S.L.-M.)
| | - Bryan Owens-Baird
- Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA; (B.O.-B.); (K.K.)
- Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Gabriela Botelho
- Center of Chemistry, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal;
| | - Luis S. A. Marques
- Center of Physics, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; (S.P.); (L.S.A.M.); (M.M.D.R.); (S.L.-M.)
| | - Marta M. D. Ramos
- Center of Physics, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; (S.P.); (L.S.A.M.); (M.M.D.R.); (S.L.-M.)
| | - Kirill Kovnir
- Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA; (B.O.-B.); (K.K.)
- Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Senentxu Lanceros-Mendez
- Center of Physics, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; (S.P.); (L.S.A.M.); (M.M.D.R.); (S.L.-M.)
- BCMaterials, Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, UPV/EHU Science Park, 48940 Leioa, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
| | - Yury V. Kolen’ko
- International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, 4715-330 Braga, Portugal; (B.F.G.); (A.P.L.)
| |
Collapse
|