Recent Progress on Solution-Processed CdTe Nanocrystals Solar Cells
Source abstract
Abstract
Solution-processed CdTe nanocrystals (NCs) photovoltaic devices have many advantages, both in commercial manufacture and daily operation, due to the low-cost fabrication process, which becomes a competitive candidate for next-generation solar cells. All solution-processed CdTe NCs solar cells were first reported in 2005. In recent years, they have increased over four-fold in power conversion efficiency. The latest devices achieve AM 1.5 G power conversion efficiency up to 12.0%, values comparable to those of commercial thin film CdTe/CdS solar cells fabricated by the close-space sublimation (CSS) method. Here we review the progress and prospects in this field, focusing on new insights into CdTe NCs synthesized, device fabrication, NC solar cell operation, and how these findings give guidance on optimizing solar cell performance.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Quantum Dots Synthesis And Properties · Chalcogenide Semiconductor Thin Films · Perovskite Materials and Applications
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials & Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials & Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
References (85)
Show source-provided references
1. High-efficiency colloidal quantum dot photovoltaics via robust self-assembled monolayers10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b03677 ↗
2. Novel hybrid ligands for passivating PbS colloidal quantum dots to enhance the performance of solar cells10.1007/s40820-015-0046-4 ↗
3. Improved performance and stability in quantum dot solar cells through band alignment engineering10.1038/nmat3984 ↗
4. Ink formulation and low-temperature incorporation of sodium to yield 12% efficient Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 solar cells from sulfide nanocrystal inks10.1002/pip.2200 ↗
5. Synthesis of Cu2ZnSnS4 nanocrystal ink and its use for solar cells10.1021/ja904981r ↗
6. Air-stable all inorganic nanocrystal solar cells processed from solution10.1126/science.1117908 ↗
7. CdTe Schottky diodes from colloidal nanocrystals10.1063/1.3440384 ↗
8. Solution-processed sintered nanocrystal solar cells via Layer-by-Layer assembly10.1021/nl201282v ↗
9. Layer-by-Layer assembly of sintered CdSexTe1–x nanocrystal solar cells10.1021/nn3009189 ↗
10. Enhanced photovoltaic performance of nanocrystalline CdTe/ZnO solar cells using sol-gel ZnO and positive bias treatment10.1063/1.4875381 ↗
11. Double open-circuit voltage of three-dimensional ZnO/CdTe solar cells by a balancing depletion layer10.1021/am5041219 ↗
12. Controlled synthesis of CdTe nanocrystals for high performanced Schottky thin film solar cells10.1039/c2jm34280d ↗
13. Infrared colloidal quantum dots for photovoltaics: Fundamentals and recent progress10.1002/adma.201001491 ↗
14. Conduction-band dispersion relation and electron effective mass in III-V and II-VI zinc-blende semiconductors10.1103/PhysRevB.76.125203 ↗
15. Formation of High-Quality CdTe, CdSe, and CdS nanocrystals using CdO as precursor10.1021/ja003633m ↗
16. Experimental determination of the extinction coefficient of CdTe, CdSe, and CdS nanocrystals10.1021/cm034081k ↗
17. Synthesis of CdSe and CdTe nanocrystals without precursor injection10.1002/ange.200502279 ↗
18. A surfactant-free recipe for shape-controlled synthesis of CdSe nanocrystals10.1088/0957-4484/22/4/045604 ↗
19. Synthesis and characterization of nearly monodisperse CdE (E = S, Se, Te) semiconductor nanocrystallites10.1021/ja00072a025 ↗
20. Formation of High-Quality I−III−VI semiconductor nanocrystals by tuning relative reactivity of cationic precursors10.1021/ja9005767 ↗
21. Synthesis of high quality zinc-blende CdSe nanocrystals and their application in hybrid solar cells10.1088/0957-4484/17/18/035 ↗
22. Alternative routes toward high quality CdSe Nanocrystals10.1021/nl0155532 ↗
23. Nearly monodisperse and Shape-Controlled CdSe nanocrystals via alternative routes: Nucleation and growth10.1021/ja0173167 ↗
24. CdSe nanorod synthesis: A new approach10.1002/smll.200700297 ↗
25. Coating single-walled carbon nanotubes with cadmium chalcogenides10.1039/b510255c ↗
26. Formation and stability of size-, shape-, and Structure-Controlled CdTe nanocrystals: Ligand effects on monomers and nanocrystals10.1021/cm034729t ↗
27. Formation of High-Quality CdS and other II−VI semiconductor Nanocrystals in noncoordinating solvents: Tunable reactivity of monomers10.1002/1521-3773(20020703)41:13<2368::AID-ANIE2368>3.0.CO;2-G ↗
28. High-Yield fabrication and electrochemical characterization of tetrapodal CdSe, CdTe, and CdSexTe1–x nanocrystals10.1002/adfm.200500678 ↗
29. Large-Scale synthesis of nearly monodisperse CdSe/CdS Core/Shell nanocrystals using Air-Stable reagents via successive ion layer adsorption and reaction10.1021/ja0363563 ↗
30. Fluorescent nanocrystal−polymer composites from aqueous nanocrystals: Methods without ligand exchange10.1021/cm050260l ↗
31. Modeling the optical absorption within conjugated polymer/fullerene-based bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells10.1016/S0927-0248(03)00137-5 ↗
32. Yoon, W., Foos, E.E., and Lumb, M.P. (2012, January 3–8). Solution processing of CdTe nanocrystals for thin-film solar cells. Proceedings of the 2012 38th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), Austin, TX, USA.10.1109/PVSC.2012.6318132 ↗
33. Research strategies toward improving thin-film CdTe photovoltaic devices beyond 20% conversion efficiency10.1016/j.solmat.2013.05.055 ↗
34. Diffusion length in CdTe by measurement of photovoltage spectra in CdS/CdTe solar cells10.1063/1.1332418 ↗
35. Physicochemical evaluation of the Hot-Injection method, a synthesis route for monodisperse nanocrystals10.1002/smll.200500239 ↗
36. Enhancement of open-circuit voltage and the fill factor in CdTe nanocrystal solar cells by using interface materials10.1088/0957-4484/25/36/365203 ↗
37. Probing charge carrier density in a layer of photodoped ZnO nanoparticles by spectroscopic ellipsometry10.1021/jp104846h ↗
38. Size effects in ZnO: The cluster to quantum dot transition10.1071/CH03120 ↗
39. High efficiency solution processed sintered CdTe nanocrystal solar cells: The role of interfaces10.1021/nl403912w ↗
40. Sol-gel preparation of transparent and conductive Aluminum-Doped zinc oxide films with highly preferential crystal orientation10.1111/j.1151-2916.1998.tb02524.x ↗
41. Solution-processing of ultra-thin CdTe/ZnO nanocrystal solar cells10.1016/j.tsf.2014.02.020 ↗
42. Nanocrystal grain growth and device architectures for High-Efficiency CdTe Ink-Based photovoltaics10.1021/nn502442g ↗
43. High-efficiency inverted dithienogermole–thienopyrrolodione-based polymer solar cells10.1038/nphoton.2011.317 ↗
44. Shockley, W., and Queisser, H.J. (1961). Detailed balance limit of efficiency of p-n junction solar cells. J. Appl. Phys., 32.10.1063/1.1736034 ↗
45. P-Doping limit and donor compensation in CdTe polycrystalline thin film solar cells10.1016/j.solmat.2010.05.006 ↗
46. Prospects of colloidal nanocrystals for electronic and optoelectronic applications10.1021/cr900137k ↗
47. Improved current extraction from ZnO/PbS quantum dot heterojunction photovoltaics using a MoO3 interfacial layer10.1021/nl201472u ↗
48. Bezryadina, A., France, C., Graham, R., Yang, L., Carter, S.A., and Alers, G.B. (2012). Mid-gap trap states in CdTe nanoparticle solar cells. Appl. Phys. Lett., 100.10.1063/1.3673278 ↗
49. Study of CdTe/CdS heterostructure by CdCl2 heat treatment via in situ high temperature XRD10.1016/j.solmat.2012.11.012 ↗
50. Buurma, C., Krishnamurthy, S., and Sivananthan, S. (2014). Shockley-Read-Hall lifetimes in CdTe. J. Appl. Phys., 116.10.1063/1.4886386 ↗
51. Examining the role of ultra-thin atomic layer deposited metal oxide barrier layers on CdTe/ITO interface stability during the fabrication of solution processed nanocrystalline solar cells10.1016/j.solmat.2014.02.018 ↗
52. Energy-band barrier to improve open-circuit voltage of CdTe solar cells10.1016/j.solmat.2013.10.015 ↗
53. Current–voltage characteristics and quantum efficiency spectra of efficient thin-film CdS/CdTe solar cells10.1016/j.solmat.2013.09.032 ↗
54. Charge separation in type II tunneling multilayered structures of CdTe and CdSe nanocrystals directly proven by surface photovoltage spectroscopy10.1021/ja101629c ↗
55. Thickness dependence study of inorganic CdTe/CdSe solar cells fabricated from colloidal nanoparticle solutions10.1063/1.3380589 ↗
56. Sintered CdTe nanocrystal thin films: Determination of optical constants and application in novel inverted heterojunction solar cells10.1109/TNANO.2014.2310139 ↗
57. Fully solution processed all inorganic nanocrystal solar cells10.1039/C4CP02403F ↗
58. Safer salts for CdTe nanocrystal solution processed solar cells: The dual roles of ligand exchange and grain growth10.1039/C5TA02488A ↗
59. Solution processed CdTe/CdSe nanocrystal solar cells with more than 5.5% efficiency by using an inverted device structure10.1039/C4TC02816C ↗
60. Studies of photovoltaic properties of nanocrystalline thin films of CdS–CdTe10.1016/j.jallcom.2011.08.011 ↗
61. Tian, Y., Zhang, Y., Lin, Y., Gao, K., Zhang, Y., Liu, K., Yang, Q., Zhou, X., Qin, D., and Wu, H. (2013). Solution-processed efficient CdTe nanocrystal/CBD-CdS hetero-junction solar cells with ZnO interlayer. J. Nanoparticle Res., 15.10.1007/s11051-013-2053-z ↗
62. Chen, Z., Zhang, H., Zeng, Q., Wang, Y., Xu, D., Wang, L., Wang, H., and Yang, B. (2014). In situ construction of nanoscale CdTe-CdS bulk heterojunctions for inorganic nanocrystal solar cells. Adv. Energy Mater., 4.10.1002/aenm.201400235 ↗
63. Efficient inorganic solar cells from aqueous nanocrystals: The impact of composition on carrier dynamics10.1039/C5RA15805B ↗
64. ZnO nanowire arrays for enhanced photocurrent in PbS quantum dot solar cells10.1002/adma.201204192 ↗
65. Improving the photovoltaic performance of solid-state ZnO/CdTe core–shell nanorod array solar cells using a thin CdS interfacial layer10.1039/C3TA14539E ↗
66. Hybrid Nanorod-Polymer solar cells10.1126/science.1069156 ↗
67. First solar cells based on CdTe nanoparticle/MEH-PPV composites10.1557/JMR.2004.0279 ↗
68. Nanoscale morphology of conjugated Polymer/Fullerene-based bulk-heterojunction solar cells10.1002/adfm.200305026 ↗
69. Preparation of polymer–nanocrystals hybrid solar cells through aqueous approaches10.1016/j.nantod.2012.06.005 ↗
70. From planar-heterojunction to n–i structure: An efficient strategy to improve short-circuit current and power conversion efficiency of aqueous-solution-processed hybrid solar cells10.1039/c3ee40481a ↗
71. Inverted Hybrid Solar Cells from Aqueous Materials with a PCE of 3.61%10.1002/aenm.201200741 ↗
72. Wang, L., Wang, H., Wei, H., Zhang, H., Chen, Q., Xu, H., Han, W., Yang, B., and Sun, H. (2014). Unraveling charge separation and transport mechanisms in Aqueous-Processed Polymer/CdTe nanocrystal hybrid solar cells. Adv. Energy Mater., 4.10.1002/aenm.201301882 ↗
73. Bulk-heterojunction hybrid solar cells based on colloidal nanocrystals and conjugated polymers10.1039/c0ee00143k ↗
74. Du, X., Chen, Z., Li, Z., Hao, H., Zeng, Q., Dong, C., and Yang, B. (2014). Dip-Coated gold nanoparticle electrodes for Aqueous-Solution-Processed Large-Area solar cells. Adv. Energy Mater., 4.10.1002/aenm.201400135 ↗
75. Synthesis of a Water-Soluble conjugated polymer based on thiophene for an Aqueous-Processed hybrid photovoltaic and photodetector device10.1002/adma.201305500 ↗
76. High-Efficiency Aqueous-Solution-Processed hybrid solar cells based on P3HT dots and CdTe nanocrystals10.1021/am508985q ↗
77. High-Efficiency Aqueous-Processed hybrid solar cells with an enormous herschel infrared contribution10.1021/am501408v ↗
78. Aqueous-Processed inorganic thin-film solar cells based on CdSexTe1–x nanocrystals: The impact of composition on photovoltaic performance10.1021/acsami.5b07197 ↗
79. High efficiency aqueous-processed MEH-PPV/CdTe hybrid solar cells with a PCE of 4.20%10.1039/C5TA08507A ↗
80. Efficient aqueous-processed hybrid solar cells from a polymer with a wide bandgap10.1039/C5TA02285A ↗
81. Xie, Y., Tan, Q., Zhang, Z., Lu, K., Li, M., Xu, W., Qin, D., Zhang, Y., Hou, L., and Wu, H. (2016). Improving performance in CdTe/CdSe nanocrystals solar cells by using bulk nano-heterojunctions. J. Mater. Chem. C.10.1039/C6TC01571A ↗
82. Next generation solar cells based on graded bandgap device structures utilising rod-type nano-materials10.3390/en8065440 ↗
83. Advances in nanostructured thin film materials for solar cell applications10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.268 ↗
84. Quantum dot cosensitized solar cell based on PMOT@CdSe@ZnO core shell nanostructures with dual emission10.1016/j.jssc.2015.11.013 ↗
85. Higher open-circuit voltage set by cobalt redox shuttle in SnO2 nanofibers-sensitized CdTe quantum dot solar cells10.1016/j.jechem.2016.02.008 ↗