Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/100341
Title: Nanoparticle-induced grain growth of carbon-free solution-processed CuIn(S,Se)2 solar cell with 6% efficiency
Authors: Cai, Yongan
Ho, John C. W.
Batabyal, Sudip Kumar
Liu, Wei
Sun, Yun
Mhaisalkar, Subodh Gautam
Wong, Lydia Helena
Keywords: Nanoparticles
Issue Date: 2013
Source: Cai, Y., Ho, J. C. W., Batabyal, S. K., Liu, W., Sun, Y., Mhaisalkar, S. G., & Wong, L. H. (2013). Nanoparticle-Induced Grain Growth of Carbon-Free Solution-Processed CuIn(S,Se) 2 Solar Cell with 6% Efficiency . ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 5(5), 1533-1537.
Series/Report no.: ACS applied materials & interfaces
Abstract: Chalcopyrite-based solar cell deposited by solution processes is of great research interest due to ease of fabrication and cost effectiveness. Despite the initial promising results, most of the reported methods encounter challenges such as limited grain growth, Carbon-rich interlayer, high thermal budget and the presence of secondary Cu-rich phases, which limit the power conversion efficiency (PCE). In this paper, we develop a new technique to deposit large grain, Carbon-free CISSe absorber layers from aqueous nanoparticle/precursor mixture which resulted in a solar cell with PCE of 6.2%. CuCl2, InCl3, and thiourea were mixed with CuS and In2S3 nanoparticles in water to form the unique nanoparticle/precursor solution. The Carbon layer formation was prevented because organic solvents were not used in the precursor. The copper-rich (CuS) nanoparticles were intentionally introduced as nucleation sites which accelerate grain growth. In the presence of nanoparticles, the grain size of CISSe film increased by a factor of 7 and the power conversion efficiency of the solar cell is 85% higher than the device without nanoparticle. This idea of using nanoparticles as a means to promote grain growth can be further exploited for other types of chalcopyrite thin film deposited by solution methods.
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/100341
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/17872
DOI: 10.1021/am303057z
Schools: School of Materials Science & Engineering 
Research Centres: Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N) 
Rights: © 2013 American Chemical Society. This is the author created version of a work that has been peer reviewed and accepted for publication by ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, American Chemical Society. It incorporates referee’s comments but changes resulting from the publishing process, such as copyediting, structural formatting, may not be reflected in this document. The published version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/am303057z
Fulltext Permission: open
Fulltext Availability: With Fulltext
Appears in Collections:ERI@N Journal Articles
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