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Fabrication of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) Nanoparticle Inks for Growth of CZTS Films for Solar Cells.

ABSTRACT: Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) is a promising candidate material for photovoltaic applications; hence, ecofriendly methods are required to fabricate CZTS films. In this work, we fabricated CZTS nanocrystal inks by a wet ball milling method, with the use of only nontoxic solvents, followed by filtration. We performed centrifugation to screen the as-milled CZTS and obtain nanocrystals. The distribution of CZTS nanoparticles during centrifugation was examined and nanocrystal inks were obtained after the final centrifugal treatment. The as-fabricated CZTS nanocrystal inks were used to deposit CZTS precursors with precisely controlled CZTS films by a spin-coating method followed by a rapid high pressure sulfur annealing method. Both the grain growth and crystallinity of the CZTS films were promoted and the composition was adjusted from S poor to S-rich by the annealing. XRD and Raman characterization showed no secondary phases in the annealed film, the absence of the detrimental phases. A solar cell efficiency of 6.2% (open circuit voltage: Voc = 633.3 mV, short circuit current: Jsc = 17.6 mA/cm², and fill factor: FF = 55.8%) with an area of 0.2 cm² was achieved based on the annealed CZTS film as the absorber layer.

SUBMITTER: Zhang X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6473955 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Fabrication of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) Nanoparticle Inks for Growth of CZTS Films for Solar Cells.

Zhang Xianfeng X Fu Engang E Wang Yuehui Y Zhang Cheng C

Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) 20190302 3

Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) is a promising candidate material for photovoltaic applications; hence, ecofriendly methods are required to fabricate CZTS films. In this work, we fabricated CZTS nanocrystal inks by a wet ball milling method, with the use of only nontoxic solvents, followed by filtration. We performed centrifugation to screen the as-milled CZTS and obtain nanocrystals. The distribution of CZTS nanoparticles during centrifugation was examined and nanocrystal inks were obtained after the final ce ...[more]

PMID: 30832326

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Project description:Increasing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of kesterite Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) solar cells has remained challenging over the past decade, in part due to open-circuit voltage (VOC)-limiting defect states at the absorber/buffer interface. Previously, we found that substituting the conventional CdS buffer layer with In2S3 in CZTSSe devices fabricated from nanoparticle inks produced an increase in the apparent doping density of the CZTSSe film and a higher built-in voltage arising from a more favorable energy-band alignment at the absorber/buffer interface. However, any associated gain in VOC was negated by the introduction of photoactive defects at the interface. This present study incorporates a hybrid Cd/In dual buffer in CZTSSe devices that demonstrate an average relative increase of 11.5% in PCE compared to CZTSSe devices with a standard CdS buffer. Current density-voltage analysis using a double-diode model revealed the presence of (i) a large recombination current in the quasi-neutral region (QNR) of the CZTSSe absorber in the standard CdS-based device, (ii) a large recombination current in the space-charge region (SCR) of the hybrid buffer CZTSSe-In2S3-CdS device, and (iii) reduced recombination currents in both the QNR and SCR of the CZTSSe-CdS-In2S3 device. This accounts for a notable 9.0% average increase in the short-circuit current density (JSC) observed in CZTSSe-CdS-In2S3 in comparison to the CdS-only CZTSSe solar cells. Energy-dispersive X-ray, secondary-ion mass spectroscopy, and grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction compositional analysis of the CZTSSe layer in the three types of kesterite solar cells suggest that there is diffusion of elemental In and Cd into the absorbers with a hybrid buffer. Enhanced Cd diffusion concomitant with a double postdeposition heat treatment of the hybrid buffer layers in the CZTSSe-CdS-In2S3 device increases carrier collection and extraction and boosts JSC. This is evidenced by electron-beam-induced current measurements, where higher current generation and collection near to the p-n junction is observed, accounting for the increase in JSC in this device. It is expected that optimization of the heat treatment of the hybrid buffer layers will lead to further improvements in the device performance.

Dataset Information

Fabrication of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) Nanoparticle Inks for Growth of CZTS Films for Solar Cells.

Publications

Fabrication of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) Nanoparticle Inks for Growth of CZTS Films for Solar Cells.

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