CdSe/ZnS quantum dots as a booster in the active layer of distributed ternary organic photovoltaics

• Gabriela Lewińska,
• Piotr Jeleń,
• Zofia Kucia,
• Maciej Sitarz,
• Łukasz Walczak,
• Bartłomiej Szafraniak,
• Jerzy Sanetra and
• Konstanty W. Marszalek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 144–156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.14

• diagram of a potential solar cell with aluminum and indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes is presented in Figure 10. The HOMO was determined using the UPS spectrum of the valence bands for all samples. The lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) was determined by subtracting the energy gap from the HOMO

• obtained by conducting UPS analysis, and then the energy graph of the solar cell was built. Impedance spectroscopy results showed increased conductivity of the active layer upon doping with quantum dots. Current–voltage characteristics and standard parameters of photovoltaic cells were simulated for two

Dual-heterodyne Kelvin probe force microscopy

• Benjamin Grévin,
• Fatima Husainy,
• Dmitry Aldakov and
• Cyril Aumaître

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1068–1084, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.88

• File 1 (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S5). Dual-heterodyne Kelvin probe force microscopy under optical pumping on an organic solar cell To further validate the DHe-KPFM implementation, a second set of measurements was performed under optical pumping on an organic photovoltaic donor–acceptor

Cross-sectional Kelvin probe force microscopy on III–V epitaxial multilayer stacks: challenges and perspectives

• Mattia da Lisca,
• José Alvarez,
• James P. Connolly,
• Nicolas Vaissiere,
• Karim Mekhazni,
• Jean Decobert and
• Jean-Paul Kleider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 725–737, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.59

• ; surface photovoltage; Introduction The development of photovoltaic (PV) technologies has progressed significantly over the past twenty years as a result of considerable advancements in solar cell device engineering and material science. As a consequence, solar cells have turned into complex structures

Nanomaterials for photocatalysis and applications in environmental remediation and renewable energy

• Viet Van Pham and
• Wee-Jun Ong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 722–724, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.58

• photocatalysis mechanism outlining several possible targets (i.e., NOx degradation, water splitting, degradation of organic pollutants, and enhancement of electron generation in a solar-cell application). This Thematic Issue highlights recent experimental and theoretical developments in using light harvesting by

• Wee-Jun Ong Ho Chi Minh City and Sepang, June 2023. A general photocatalytic mechanism for several possible target processes: (1) NOx degradation, (2) water splitting for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions, (3) degradation of organic pollutants, and (4) solar cell application. Acknowledgements

Conjugated photothermal materials and structure design for solar steam generation

• Chia-Yang Lin and
• Tsuyoshi Michinobu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 454–466, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.36

• AM1.5 standard is used in solar cell engineering with a fraction of 3% in the ultraviolet (UV) region (300–400 nm), of 45% in the visible region (400–700 nm), and of 52% in the near-infrared (NIR) and infrared region (700–2500 nm). This suggests that PTMs need to have a high absorption at wavelengths

Electrical and optical enhancement of ITO/Mo bilayer thin films via laser annealing

• Abdelbaki Hacini,
• Ahmad Hadi Ali,
• Nurul Nadia Adnan and
• Nafarizal Nayan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1589–1595, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.133

• roughness. In this work, we investigate the effect of laser annealing treatment on ITO/Mo (IM) bilayer thin films as transparent conducting material for solar cell applications. The structural, optical, and electrical properties of the IM structure were examined as functions of the laser energy

Influence of thickness and morphology of MoS₂ on the performance of counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

• Lam Thuy Thi Mai,
• Hai Viet Le,
• Ngan Kim Thi Nguyen,
• Van La Tran Pham,
• Thu Anh Thi Nguyen,
• Nguyen Thanh Le Huynh and
• Hoang Thai Nguyen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 528–537, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.44

• . This suggested that the MoS2-1.25/FTO CE has reversible redox activity and electrochemical stability. The electrochemical stability of the MoS2/FTO CE should provide long-term stability for solar cell devices. However, more work needs to be done to improve the efficiency of this DSSC device [36][37][38

Zinc oxide nanostructures for fluorescence and Raman signal enhancement: a review

• Ioana Marica,
• Fran Nekvapil,
• Maria Ștefan,
• Cosmin Farcău and
• Alexandra Falamaș

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 472–490, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.40

• stability, to name just a few. Additionally, ZnO-based nanosubstrates have been used lately in combination with noble metals to enhance the fluorescence emission of dyes located in their vicinity [20][21] as well for amplifying the fluorescence emission of ZnO, which could prove very useful for solar cell

First-principles study of the structural, optoelectronic and thermophysical properties of the π-SnSe for thermoelectric applications

• Muhammad Atif Sattar,
• Najwa Al Bouzieh,
• Maamar Benkraouda and
• Noureddine Amrane

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1101–1114, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.82

• ) calculations along with an experimental characterization they concluded that π-SnSe is energetically close to the stable α-SnSe phase. A working solar cell made by a cubic SnS crystalline structure is also reported [48] with optical bandgaps in the range of 1.6 to 1.8 eV [49]. Therefore, it is natural to

9.1% efficient zinc oxide/silicon solar cells on a 50 μm thick Si absorber

• Rafal Pietruszka,
• Bartlomiej S. Witkowski,
• Monika Ozga,
• Katarzyna Gwozdz,
• Ewa Placzek-Popko and
• Marek Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 766–774, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.60

• using zinc oxide nanorods. The efficiency of a textured solar cell structure is compared with the one obtained for a planar zinc oxide/silicon structure. The present results show the possibility to produce efficient solar cells on a relatively thin 50 μm thick silicon substrate. Solar cells with

• . The obtained solar cell shows response in a wide spectral range from ultraviolet to infrared. Current–voltage and current–voltage–temperature measurements were performed to evaluate basic photovoltaic parameters. At room temperature, the cells efficiency equals to 9.1% for textured structures and 5.4

• % for planar structures, respectively. The work, therefore, describes an environmentally friendly technology for PV architecture with surface textures increasing the efficiency of PV cells. Keywords: atomic layer deposition; hydrothermal method; photovoltaics; silicon; solar cell; zinc oxide

Influence of electrospray deposition on C₆₀ molecular assemblies

• Antoine Hinaut,
• Sebastian Scherb,
• Sara Freund,
• Zhao Liu,
• Thilo Glatzel and
• Ernst Meyer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 552–558, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.45

• corresponding to small clusters of molecules. The possibility to perform HV-ESD on a NiO surface is of interest for the elaboration of p-type solar cell devices [36][37][48]. The nc-AFM topography image of Figure 4b is obtained after HV-ESD of C60 on a clean NiO(001) surface. Even though the high-quality

A review on the green and sustainable synthesis of silver nanoparticles and one-dimensional silver nanostructures

• Sina Kaabipour and
• Shohreh Hemmati

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 102–136, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.9

• resonance (SPR) and generally have a broad absorption spectrum [83]. This enables applications in optoelectronics and surface-enhanced Raman scattering [84][85]. AgNPs were also applied effectively in solar cell matrices [32][86][87]. AgNPs can enhance the current density in solar cells due to their far

Atomic layer deposited films of Al₂O₃ on fluorine-doped tin oxide electrodes: stability and barrier properties

• Hana Krýsová,
• Michael Neumann-Spallart,
• Hana Tarábková,
• Pavel Janda,
• Ladislav Kavan and
• Josef Krýsa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 24–34, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.2

• absorber (sensitizing dye or perovskite) to the negative terminal of the solar cell, usually an FTO or a similar transparent conducting oxide. At the same time, this layer blocks the back electron transfer from the current collector (FTO) to the electrolyte redox mediator, to the hole-transporting medium

Structural and electronic properties of SnO₂ doped with non-metal elements

• Jianyuan Yu,
• Yingeng Wang,
• Yan Huang,
• Xiuwen Wang,
• Jing Guo,
• Jingkai Yang and
• Hongli Zhao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1321–1328, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.116

• research works has been done examining different doping elements. Doped tin oxide thin film have been widely used in the fields of thin film solar cell electrodes, electronic display devices, and gas sensors. Also doped SnO2 been used for energy-saving low-emissivity glass coatings due to low resistivity

Excitonic and electronic transitions in Me–Sb₂Se₃ structures

• Nicolae N. Syrbu,
• Victor V. Zalamai,
• Ivan G. Stamov and
• Stepan I. Beril

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1045–1053, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.89

• energy radiation [1][2] which is corroborated by a 6.5% rapid increase in solar cell efficiency when Sb2Se3 is present [3][4][5]. Interestingly, this high absorption coefficient is 103 times higher than the absorption in silicon [5][6][7] and encompasses a wide portion of the spectrum ranging from 1.0 eV

Structural optical and electrical properties of a transparent conductive ITO/Al–Ag/ITO multilayer contact

• Aliyu Kabiru Isiyaku,
• Ahmad Hadi Ali and
• Nafarizal Nayan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 695–702, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.57

• . Acknowledgements A. K. Isiyaku presented part of these results in his PhD dissertation title “Sputter deposition and characterization of metal sandwich indium tin oxide/silicon for solar cell application” (Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Malaysia). Authors contributions: The experimental work was design by A

Implementation of data-cube pump–probe KPFM on organic solar cells

• Benjamin Grévin,
• Olivier Bardagot and
• Renaud Demadrille

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 323–337, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.24

• single-point mode or over a 2D grid. The spectroscopic data are acquired in open z-loop configuration, which simplifies the pp-KPFM operation. The validity of the implementation is probed by measurements using electrical pumping. The dynamical photoresponse of a bulk heterojunction solar cell based on

• -processed organic donor–acceptor blends called bulk heterojunctions (BHJ), for polycrystalline direct bandgap semiconductors such as CdTe, CuInxGa(1−x)Se2 and Cu2ZnSnS4 and for hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite solar cells. Whatever material used, improving the performance of the solar cell requires a

• . pp-KPFM upon optical pumping of the organic solar cell The PTB7:PC71BM blend forming the active layer of the solar cell was processed from a chlorobenzene/DIO (CB/DIO) mixture (see Experimental section) with the aim to obtain an optimized nanoscale morphology [28]. The global performance deduced from

Recent progress in perovskite solar cells: the perovskite layer

• Xianfeng Dai,
• Ke Xu and
• Fanan Wei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 51–60, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.5

• perovskite solar cell with lower leakage current, better surface coverage and a PCE of 15.76% was fabricated. The addition of HBr shortened the crystallization time. However, the grains of the perovskite films were still not sufficiently large and dense to reach higher PCEs. In order to solve this problem

• containing MAI and PbCl2 over the solar cell substrate. Here, the champion devices exhibit a PCE of 11.1%. This report demonstrates the possibility of spray coating for large-area deposition of perovskite films. Sanjib et al. [44] proved that controlling the solar cell substrate temperature could enhance the

Semitransparent Sb₂S₃ thin film solar cells by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis for use in solar windows

• Jako S. Eensalu,
• Atanas Katerski,
• Erki Kärber,
• Lothar Weinhardt,
• Monika Blum,
• Clemens Heske,
• Wanli Yang,
• Ilona Oja Acik and
• Malle Krunks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2396–2409, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.230

• spectroscopy, semitransparent Sb2S3 thin films can be rapidly grown in air by the area-scalable ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method. Integrated into a ITO/TiO2/Sb2S3/P3HT/Au solar cell, a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.5% at air mass 1.5 global (AM1.5G) is achieved, which is a record among spray

• -deposited Sb2S3 solar cells. An average visible transparency (AVT) of 26% of the back-contact-less ITO/TiO2/Sb2S3 solar cell stack in the wavelength range of 380–740 nm is attained by tuning the Sb2S3 absorber thickness to 100 nm. In scale-up from mm2 to cm2 areas, the Sb2S3 hybrid solar cells show a

• decrease in efficiency of only 3.2% for an 88 mm2 Sb2S3 solar cell, which retains 70% relative efficiency after one year of non-encapsulated storage. A cell with a PCE of 3.9% at 1 sun shows a PCE of 7.4% at 0.1 sun, attesting to the applicability of these solar cells for light harvesting under cloud cover

Polyvinylpyrrolidone as additive for perovskite solar cells with water and isopropanol as solvents

• Chen Du,
• Shuo Wang,
• Xu Miao,
• Wenhai Sun,
• Yu Zhu,
• Chengyan Wang and
• Ruixin Ma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2374–2382, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.228

• the highest PCE of PSCs being 15.11% [23][24]. A procedure to synthesize perovskite absorbers using only water and isopropanol as solvents was developed by Sveinbjörnsson and co-workers. Also, by using the perovskite composition Cs0.1FA0.9Pb(I0.83Br0.17)3, they obtained an average solar cell power

• simulator (Newport Oriel Sol3A Class AAA, 64023A Simulator), which was calibrated using a NREL standard Si solar cell. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements were conducted by using an electrochemical workstation (CHI660d) (1 MHz to 100 Hz) and for fitting the Zview software was used. The

• five devices is reduced. A higher level of Rrec relates to a larger arcs in the figure, which suggests a smaller number of composite centers in the solar cell [35]. When the amount of PVP additive is 0.5 and 1 mg/mL, the Rrec value is greater than that of devices without PVP. In contrast, when 2 or 3

Nontoxic pyrite iron sulfide nanocrystals as second electron acceptor in PTB7:PC₇₁BM-based organic photovoltaic cells

• Olivia Amargós-Reyes,
• José-Luis Maldonado,
• Omar Martínez-Alvarez,
• María-Elena Nicho,
• José Santos-Cruz,
• Juan Nicasio-Collazo,
• Irving Caballero-Quintana and
• Concepción Arenas-Arrocena

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2238–2250, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.216

• measurements provide information about the different factors limiting solar cell efficiency: charge storage, carrier lifetimes, recombination and resistivity [60]. Figure 8 shows the IS measurements (Nyquist plot) and the corresponding simulations (with the equivalent circuit model presented in Figure 8c) of

• enhance the performance of the solar cell. In addition, the influence of the concentration of the FeS2 NCs (0, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 wt %) on the solar cell performance was investigated. The PV parameters were enhanced at a specific doping level (0.5 wt %). The PCE could be improved by about 21% compared to

Green and scalable synthesis of nanocrystalline kuramite

• Andrea Giaccherini,
• Giuseppe Cucinotta,
• Stefano Martinuzzi,
• Enrico Berretti,
• Werner Oberhauser,
• Alessandro Lavacchi,
• Giovanni Orazio Lepore,
• Giordano Montegrossi,
• Maurizio Romanelli,
• Antonio De Luca,
• Massimo Innocenti,
• Vanni Moggi Cecchi,
• Matteo Mannini,
• Antonella Buccianti and
• Francesco Di Benedetto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2073–2083, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.202

• production costs). Due to the scarcity of the resources involved in the process and the need for the reduction of potential pollution, a greener approach to solar cell material production is required. Among others, the solvothermal approach for the synthesis of nanocrystalline Cu–Sn–S (CTS) materials fulfils

• ; Introduction In the last decade, advances in materials science and nanoscience have led to the development of new solar cell technologies. Today, they hold promise to overcome the environmental issues created by silicon-based devices. Such devices are difficult to decommission, their production requires energy

• environmentally serious [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Thin films of kesterite and kuramite (tetragonal Cu2ZnSnS4 and Cu3SnS4, respectively) are among the most sustainable third generation solar cell technology materials [9][10][11]. Their best conversion efficiencies span from 12.6% (using Cu2ZnSnS4−xSex obtained

Photoactive nanoarchitectures based on clays incorporating TiO₂ and ZnO nanoparticles

• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky,
• Pilar Aranda,
• Marwa Akkari,
• Nithima Khaorapapong and
• Makoto Ogawa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1140–1156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.114

• metal oxides exhibit a large exciton binding energy, large piezoelectric constants and strong photoluminescence. This is of interest not only for applications as photocatalysts but also as sensors, solar cell devices, disinfectants, and cosmetics [137][138]. As discussed above, the dispersion of the

• alternative interesting semiconductor–semiconductor heterojunctions. Finally, another approach to increase the photo-efficiency of the considered systems is the photosensitization of TiO2 and ZnO NPs to obtain visible-light responsive photocatalysts as well as solar-cell components [93][141][142]. These

CuInSe₂ quantum dots grown by molecular beam epitaxy on amorphous SiO₂ surfaces

• Henrique Limborço,
• Pedro M.P. Salomé,
• Rodrigo Ribeiro-Andrade,
• Jennifer P. Teixeira,
• Nicoleta Nicoara,
• Kamal Abderrafi,
• Joaquim P. Leitão,
• Juan C. Gonzalez and
• Sascha Sadewasser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1103–1111, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.110

• this family of materials [5], new solar-cell architectures based on nanostructures have been proposed [6][7][8][9]. Examples of such architectures are intermediate-band solar cells [10], solar cells based on multi-exciton generation [11][12], quantum dot solar cells [13][14][15], and others [16], all

• analysis. The use of a substrate with an amorphous surface, together with the use of an industrial standard growth technique, namely co-evaporation, opens the door to use the nanodots in advanced solar-cell architectures and a potential large-area industrialization of this process. Experimental Sample

Renewable energy conversion using nano- and microstructured materials

• Harry Mönig and
• Martina Schmid

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 771–773, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.76

• - and microstructures for energy conversion: materials and devices” provides insights into the latest developments in the related fields. Besides a focus on solar-cell concepts [1][2][3][4][5], it also addresses light harvesting by solar fuel production [6][7], and energy storage by batteries [8