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Artuk K, Turkay D, Mensi MD, Steele JA, Jacobs DA, Othman M, Yu Chin X, Moon SJ, Tiwari AN, Hessler-Wyser A, Jeangros Q, Ballif C, Wolff CM. A Universal Perovskite/C60 Interface Modification via Atomic Layer Deposited Aluminum Oxide for Perovskite Solar Cells and Perovskite-Silicon Tandems. Adv Mater 2024:e2311745. [PMID: 38300183 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202311745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
The primary performance limitation in inverted perovskite-based solar cells is the interface between the fullerene-based electron transport layers and the perovskite. Atomic layer deposited thin aluminum oxide (AlOX ) interlayers that reduce nonradiative recombination at the perovskite/C60 interface are developed, resulting in >60 millivolts improvement in open-circuit voltage and 1% absolute improvement in power conversion efficiency. Surface-sensitive characterizations indicate the presence of a thin, conformally deposited AlOx layer, functioning as a passivating contact. These interlayers work universally using different lead-halide-based absorbers with different compositions where the 1.55 electron volts bandgap single junction devices reach >23% power conversion efficiency. A reduction of metallic Pb0 is found and the compact layer prevents in- and egress of volatile species, synergistically improving the stability. AlOX -modified wide-bandgap perovskite absorbers as a top cell in a monolithic perovskite-silicon tandem enable a certified power conversion efficiency of 29.9% and open-circuit voltages above 1.92 volts for 1.17 square centimeters device area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerem Artuk
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Electrical and Microengineering (IEM), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), Rue de la Maladière 71b, Neuchâtel, 2002, Switzerland
| | - Deniz Turkay
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Electrical and Microengineering (IEM), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), Rue de la Maladière 71b, Neuchâtel, 2002, Switzerland
| | - Mounir D Mensi
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL-VS), Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering (ISIC-XRDSAP), Rue de L'Industrie 17, Sion, 1951, Switzerland
| | - Julian A Steele
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
- School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Daniel A Jacobs
- Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM), Rue Jaquet-Droz 1, Neuchâtel, 2002, Switzerland
| | - Mostafa Othman
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Electrical and Microengineering (IEM), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), Rue de la Maladière 71b, Neuchâtel, 2002, Switzerland
| | - Xin Yu Chin
- Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM), Rue Jaquet-Droz 1, Neuchâtel, 2002, Switzerland
| | - Soo-Jin Moon
- Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM), Rue Jaquet-Droz 1, Neuchâtel, 2002, Switzerland
| | - Ayodhya N Tiwari
- Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa-Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Ueberlandstrasse 129, Duebendorf, 8600, Switzerland
| | - Aïcha Hessler-Wyser
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Electrical and Microengineering (IEM), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), Rue de la Maladière 71b, Neuchâtel, 2002, Switzerland
| | - Quentin Jeangros
- Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM), Rue Jaquet-Droz 1, Neuchâtel, 2002, Switzerland
| | - Christophe Ballif
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Electrical and Microengineering (IEM), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), Rue de la Maladière 71b, Neuchâtel, 2002, Switzerland
- Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM), Rue Jaquet-Droz 1, Neuchâtel, 2002, Switzerland
| | - Christian M Wolff
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Electrical and Microengineering (IEM), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), Rue de la Maladière 71b, Neuchâtel, 2002, Switzerland
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2
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Jeangros Q, Bugnet M, Epicier T, Frantz C, Diethelm S, Montinaro D, Tyukalova E, Pivak Y, Van Herle J, Hessler-Wyser A, Duchamp M. Operando analysis of a solid oxide fuel cell by environmental transmission electron microscopy. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7959. [PMID: 38042850 PMCID: PMC10693604 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43683-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Correlating the microstructure of an energy conversion device to its performance is often a complex exercise, notably in solid oxide fuel cell research. Solid oxide fuel cells combine multiple materials and interfaces that evolve in time due to high operating temperatures and reactive atmospheres. We demonstrate here that operando environmental transmission electron microscopy can identify structure-property links in such devices. By contacting a cathode-electrolyte-anode cell to a heating and biasing microelectromechanical system in a single-chamber configuration, a direct correlation is found between the environmental conditions (oxygen and hydrogen partial pressures, temperature), the cell open circuit voltage, and the microstructural evolution of the fuel cell, down to the atomic scale. The results shed important insights into the impact of the anode oxidation state and its morphology on the cell electrical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Q Jeangros
- Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de la Maladière 71b, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
- Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM), Jaquet-Droz 1, 2002, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
| | - M Bugnet
- Univ Lyon, CNRS, INSA-Lyon, UCBL, MATEIS, UMR 5510, 69621, Villeurbanne, France
| | - T Epicier
- Univ Lyon, CNRS, INSA-Lyon, UCBL, MATEIS, UMR 5510, 69621, Villeurbanne, France
- Univ Lyon, UCBL, IRCELYON, UMR CNRS 5256, F-69626, Villeurbanne, France
| | - C Frantz
- Group of Energy Materials (GEM), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de l'Industrie 17, 1951, Sion, Switzerland
| | - S Diethelm
- Group of Energy Materials (GEM), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de l'Industrie 17, 1951, Sion, Switzerland
| | - D Montinaro
- SolydEra S.p.A., 38017, Mezzolombardo, Italy
| | - E Tyukalova
- Laboratory for in situ & operando Electron Nanoscopy, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), 50 Nanyang Avenue, 63737, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Y Pivak
- DENSsolutions, Informaticalaan 12, 2628 ZD, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - J Van Herle
- Group of Energy Materials (GEM), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de l'Industrie 17, 1951, Sion, Switzerland
| | - A Hessler-Wyser
- Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de la Maladière 71b, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - M Duchamp
- Laboratory for in situ & operando Electron Nanoscopy, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), 50 Nanyang Avenue, 63737, Singapore, Singapore.
- MajuLab, International Joint Research Unit UMI 3654, CNRS, Université Côte d'Azur, Sorbonne Université, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
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3
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Faes A, Jeangros Q, Wagner JB, Hansen TW, Van Herle J, Brisse A, Dunin-Borkowski R, Hessler-Wyser A. In situ Reduction and Oxidation of Nickel from Solid Oxide Fuel Cells in a Transmission Electron Microscope. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019. [DOI: 10.1149/1.3205743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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4
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Rucavado E, Graužinytė M, Flores-Livas JA, Jeangros Q, Landucci F, Lee Y, Koida T, Goedecker S, Hessler-Wyser A, Ballif C, Morales-Masis M. New Route for "Cold-Passivation" of Defects in Tin-Based Oxides. J Phys Chem C Nanomater Interfaces 2018; 122:17612-17620. [PMID: 30258525 PMCID: PMC6150684 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b02302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Revised: 07/17/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) are essential in technologies coupling light and electricity. For Sn-based TCOs, oxygen deficiencies and undercoordinated Sn atoms result in an extended density of states below the conduction band edge. Although shallow states provide free carriers necessary for electrical conductivity, deeper states inside the band gap are detrimental to transparency. In zinc tin oxide (ZTO), the overall optoelectronic properties can be improved by defect passivation via annealing at high temperatures. Yet, the high thermal budget associated with such treatment is incompatible with many applications. Here, we demonstrate an alternative, low-temperature passivation method, which relies on cosputtering Sn-based TCOs with silicon dioxide (SiO2). Using amorphous ZTO and amorphous/polycrystalline tin dioxide (SnO2) as representative cases, we demonstrate through optoelectronic characterization and density functional theory simulations that the SiO2 contribution is twofold. First, oxygen from SiO2 passivates the oxygen deficiencies that form deep defects in SnO2 and ZTO. Second, the ionization energy of the remaining deep defect centers is lowered by the presence of silicon atoms. Remarkably, we find that these ionized states do not contribute to sub-gap absorptance. This simple passivation scheme significantly improves the optical properties without affecting the electrical conductivity, hence overcoming the known transparency-conductivity trade-off in Sn-based TCOs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esteban Rucavado
- Institute
of Microengineering (IMT), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics
Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne (EPFL), Neuchâtel CH-2002, Switzerland
| | - Miglė Graužinytė
- Department
of Physics, Universität Basel, Klingelbergstr. 82, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - José A. Flores-Livas
- Department
of Physics, Universität Basel, Klingelbergstr. 82, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Quentin Jeangros
- Institute
of Microengineering (IMT), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics
Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne (EPFL), Neuchâtel CH-2002, Switzerland
- Department
of Physics, Universität Basel, Klingelbergstr. 82, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Federica Landucci
- Institute
of Microengineering (IMT), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics
Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne (EPFL), Neuchâtel CH-2002, Switzerland
- Interdisciplinary
Centre for Electron Microscopy, École
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Yeonbae Lee
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, University
of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Takashi Koida
- Research
Center for Photovoltaics, National Institute
of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan
| | - Stefan Goedecker
- Department
of Physics, Universität Basel, Klingelbergstr. 82, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Aïcha Hessler-Wyser
- Institute
of Microengineering (IMT), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics
Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne (EPFL), Neuchâtel CH-2002, Switzerland
| | - Christophe Ballif
- Institute
of Microengineering (IMT), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics
Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne (EPFL), Neuchâtel CH-2002, Switzerland
| | - Monica Morales-Masis
- Institute
of Microengineering (IMT), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics
Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne (EPFL), Neuchâtel CH-2002, Switzerland
- MESA+ Institute
for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
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5
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Lorenzo F, Aebersold AB, Morales-Masis M, Ledinský M, Escrig S, Vetushka A, Alexander DTL, Hessler-Wyser A, Fejfar A, Hébert C, Nicolay S, Ballif C. Direct Imaging of Dopant Distribution in Polycrystalline ZnO Films. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2017; 9:7241-7248. [PMID: 28151638 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b14350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Two fundamental requirements of transparent conductive oxides are high conductivity and low optical absorptance, properties strongly dependent on the free-carrier concentration of the film. The free-carrier concentration is usually tuned by the addition of dopant atoms; which are commonly assumed to be uniformly distributed in the films or partially segregated at grain boundaries. Here, the combination of secondary ion mass spectroscopy at the nanometric scale (NanoSIMS) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) allows direct imaging of boron-dopant distribution in polycrystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) films. This work demonstrates that the boron atoms have a bimodal spatial distribution within each grain of the ZnO films. NanoSIMS analysis shows that boron atoms are preferentially incorporated into one of the two sides of each ZnO grain. KPFM measurements confirm that boron atoms are electrically active, locally increasing the free-carrier concentration in the film. The proposed cause of this nonuniform dopant distribution is the different sticking coefficient of Zn adatoms on the two distinct surface terminations of the ZnO grains. The higher sticking coefficient of Zn on the c+ surface restricts the boron incorporation on this side of the grains, resulting in preferential boron incorporation on the c- side and causing the bimodal distribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanni Lorenzo
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , Institute of Microengineering, Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory, Rue de la Maladière 71B, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - A Brian Aebersold
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , Interdisciplinary Centre for Electron Microscopy (CIME), Station 12, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Monica Morales-Masis
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , Institute of Microengineering, Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory, Rue de la Maladière 71B, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Martin Ledinský
- Laboratory of Nanostructures and Nanomaterials, Institute of Physics ASCR , Cukrovarnická 10, 162 00 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Stéphane Escrig
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , Laboratory for Biological Geochemistry, Station 2, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Aliaksei Vetushka
- Laboratory of Nanostructures and Nanomaterials, Institute of Physics ASCR , Cukrovarnická 10, 162 00 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Duncan T L Alexander
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , Interdisciplinary Centre for Electron Microscopy (CIME), Station 12, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Aïcha Hessler-Wyser
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , Institute of Microengineering, Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory, Rue de la Maladière 71B, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Antonín Fejfar
- Laboratory of Nanostructures and Nanomaterials, Institute of Physics ASCR , Cukrovarnická 10, 162 00 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Cécile Hébert
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , Interdisciplinary Centre for Electron Microscopy (CIME), Station 12, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sylvain Nicolay
- Centre Suisse d'Electronique et Microtechnique , PV-Center, rue Jacques-Droz 1, CH-2002 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Christophe Ballif
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , Institute of Microengineering, Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory, Rue de la Maladière 71B, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Centre Suisse d'Electronique et Microtechnique , PV-Center, rue Jacques-Droz 1, CH-2002 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
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6
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Jeangros Q, Duchamp M, Werner J, Kruth M, Dunin-Borkowski RE, Niesen B, Ballif C, Hessler-Wyser A. In Situ TEM Analysis of Organic-Inorganic Metal-Halide Perovskite Solar Cells under Electrical Bias. Nano Lett 2016; 16:7013-7018. [PMID: 27775887 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b03158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Changes in the nanostructure of methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) perovskite solar cells are assessed as a function of current-voltage stimulus by biasing thin samples in situ in a transmission electron microscope. Various degradation pathways are identified both in situ and ex situ, predominantly at the positively biased MAPbI3 interface. Iodide migrates into the positively biased charge transport layer and also volatilizes along with organic species, which triggers the nucleation of PbI2 nanoparticles and voids and hence decreases the cell performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quentin Jeangros
- Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Microengineering (IMT) , Rue de la Maladière 71B, Neuchâtel CH-2000, Switzerland
- Department of Physics, University of Basel , Klingelbergstrasse 82, Basel CH-4056, Switzerland
| | - Martial Duchamp
- Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons and Peter Grünberg Institute , Forschungszentrum Jülich D-52425, Germany
| | - Jérémie Werner
- Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Microengineering (IMT) , Rue de la Maladière 71B, Neuchâtel CH-2000, Switzerland
| | - Maximilian Kruth
- Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons and Peter Grünberg Institute , Forschungszentrum Jülich D-52425, Germany
| | - Rafal E Dunin-Borkowski
- Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons and Peter Grünberg Institute , Forschungszentrum Jülich D-52425, Germany
| | - Bjoern Niesen
- Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Microengineering (IMT) , Rue de la Maladière 71B, Neuchâtel CH-2000, Switzerland
| | - Christophe Ballif
- Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Microengineering (IMT) , Rue de la Maladière 71B, Neuchâtel CH-2000, Switzerland
| | - Aïcha Hessler-Wyser
- Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Microengineering (IMT) , Rue de la Maladière 71B, Neuchâtel CH-2000, Switzerland
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7
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Niesen B, Blondiaux N, Boccard M, Stuckelberger M, Pugin R, Scolan E, Meillaud F, Haug FJ, Hessler-Wyser A, Ballif C. Self-patterned nanoparticle layers for vertical interconnects: application in tandem solar cells. Nano Lett 2014; 14:5085-5091. [PMID: 25102168 DOI: 10.1021/nl501774u] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate self-patterned insulating nanoparticle layers to define local electrical interconnects in thin-film electronic devices. We show this with thin-film silicon tandem solar cells, where we introduce between the two component cells a solution-processed SiO2 nanoparticle layer with local openings to allow for charge transport. Because of its low refractive index, high transparency, and smooth surface, the SiO2 nanoparticle layer acts as an excellent intermediate reflector allowing for efficient light management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bjoern Niesen
- Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), Institute of Microengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , Rue de la Maladière 71, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
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8
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Jeangros Q, Hansen TW, Wagner JB, Dunin-Borkowski RE, Hébert C, Van herle J, Hessler-Wyser A. Measurements of local chemistry and structure in Ni(O)–YSZ composites during reduction using energy-filtered environmental TEM. Chem Commun (Camb) 2014; 50:1808-10. [DOI: 10.1039/c3cc46682e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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9
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Faes A, Hessler-Wyser A, Zryd A, Van Herle J. A Review of RedOx Cycling of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Anode. Membranes (Basel) 2012; 2:585-664. [PMID: 24958298 PMCID: PMC4021905 DOI: 10.3390/membranes2030585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2012] [Revised: 07/16/2012] [Accepted: 07/17/2012] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Solid oxide fuel cells are able to convert fuels, including hydrocarbons, to electricity with an unbeatable efficiency even for small systems. One of the main limitations for long-term utilization is the reduction-oxidation cycling (RedOx cycles) of the nickel-based anodes. This paper will review the effects and parameters influencing RedOx cycles of the Ni-ceramic anode. Second, solutions for RedOx instability are reviewed in the patent and open scientific literature. The solutions are described from the point of view of the system, stack design, cell design, new materials and microstructure optimization. Finally, a brief synthesis on RedOx cycling of Ni-based anode supports for standard and optimized microstructures is depicted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonin Faes
- Design & Materials Unit (UDM), University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (HES-SO Valais), Sion 1950, Switzerland.
| | - Aïcha Hessler-Wyser
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Electron Microscopy (CIME), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne 1015, Switzerland.
| | - Amédée Zryd
- Design & Materials Unit (UDM), University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (HES-SO Valais), Sion 1950, Switzerland.
| | - Jan Van Herle
- Industrial Energy Systems Laboratory (LENI), EPFL, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland.
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10
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Cuony P, Alexander DTL, Perez-Wurfl I, Despeisse M, Bugnon G, Boccard M, Söderström T, Hessler-Wyser A, Hébert C, Ballif C. Silicon filaments in silicon oxide for next-generation photovoltaics. Adv Mater 2012; 24:1182-1186. [PMID: 22290779 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201104578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2011] [Revised: 12/20/2011] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Nanometer wide silicon filaments embedded in an amorphous silicon oxide matrix are grown at low temperatures over a large area. The optical and electrical properties of these mixed-phase nanomaterials can be tuned independently, allowing for advanced light management in high efficiency thin-film silicon solar cells and for band-gap tuning via quantum confinement in third-generation photovoltaics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Cuony
- Photovoltaics and Thin Film Electronics Laboratory, Institute of Microengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
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