Overcoming optical losses in thin metal-based recombination layers for efficient n-i-p perovskite-organic tandem solar cells.

Perovskite-organic tandem solar cells (P-O-TSCs) hold substantial potential to surpass the theoretical efficiency limits of single-junction solar cells. However, their performance is hampered by non-ideal interconnection layers (ICLs). Especially in n-i-p configurations, the incorporation of metal nanoparticles negatively introduces serious parasitic absorption, which alleviates photon utilization in organic rear cell and decisively constrains the maximum photocurrent matching with front cell.

Lead-Free Perovskite CsAgNaBiInCl Microcrystals for Scattering-Fluorescent Luminescent Solar Concentrators.

In recent years, luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) have gained a renaissance as a pivotal transparent photovoltaic (PV) for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs). However, most of the studies focused on light-selective LSCs, and less attention was paid to the utilization of the full solar spectrum. In this study, a lead-free microcrystal CsAgNaBiInCl (CANBIC) perovskite phosphor is demonstrated to have bifunctional effects of luminescent down-shifting (LDS) and light scattering for the fabrication of LSCs, realizing light response from ultraviolet (UV) to NIR regions by an edge-mounted Si solar cell.

Inverse design workflow discovers hole-transport materials tailored for perovskite solar cells.

The inverse design of tailored organic molecules for specific optoelectronic devices of high complexity holds an enormous potential but has not yet been realized. Current models rely on large data sets that generally do not exist for specialized research fields. We demonstrate a closed-loop workflow that combines high-throughput synthesis of organic semiconductors to create large datasets and Bayesian optimization to discover new hole-transporting materials with tailored properties for solar cell applications.

Durable all inorganic perovskite tandem photovoltaics.

All-inorganic perovskites prepared by substituting the organic cations (e.g. methylammonium (MA) and formamidinium (FA)) with inorganic cations (e.

Enhancing deep visible-light photoelectrocatalysis with a single solid-state synthesis: Carbon nitride/TiO heterointerface.

Visible-light responsive, stable, and abundant absorbers are required for the rapid integration of green, clean, and renewable technologies in a circular economy. Photoactive solid-solid heterojunctions enable multiple charge pathways, inhibiting recombination through efficient charge transfer across the interface. This study spotlights the physico-chemical synergy between titanium dioxide (TiO) anatase and carbon nitride (CN) to form a hybrid material.

On the critical competition between singlet exciton decay and free charge generation in non-fullerene based organic solar cells with low energetic offsets.

Reducing voltage losses while maintaining high photocurrents is the holy grail of current research on non-fullerene acceptor (NFA) based organic solar cell. Recent focus lies in understanding the various fundamental mechanisms in organic blends with minimal energy offsets - particularly the relationship between ionization energy offset (ΔIE) and free charge generation. Here, we quantitatively probe this relationship in multiple NFA-based blends by mixing Y-series NFAs with PM6 of different molecular weights, covering a broad power conversion efficiency (PCE) range: from 15% down to 1%.

Photodegradation of Organic Solar Cells under Visible Light and the Crucial Influence of Its Spectral Composition.

While wavelength-dependent photodegradation of organic solar cells (OSCs) under visible light is typically discussed in terms of UV/blue light-activated phenomena, we recently demonstrated wavelength-dependent degradation rates up to 660 nm for PM6:Y6. In this study, we systematically investigated this phenomenon for a broad variety of devices based on different donor:acceptor combinations. We found that the spectral composition of the light used for degradation, tuned in a spectral range from 457 to 740 nm and under high irradiances of up to 30 suns, has a crucial influence on the device stability of almost all tested semiconductors.

Precursor-Engineered Volatile Inks Enable Reliable Blade-Coating of Cesium-Formamidinium Perovskites Toward Fully Printed Solar Modules.

Reliable fabrication of large-area perovskite films with antisolvent-free printing techniques requires high-volatility solvents, such as 2-methoxyethanol (2ME), to formulate precursor inks. However, the fabrication of high-quality cesium-formamidinium (Cs-FA) perovskites has been hampered using volatile solvents due to their poor coordination with the perovskite precursors. Here, this issue is resolved by re-formulating a 2ME-based CsFAPbI ink using pre-synthesized single crystals as the precursor instead of the conventional mixture of raw powders.

Toward Self-Driven Autonomous Material and Device Acceleration Platforms (AMADAP) for Emerging Photovoltaics Technologies.

ConspectusIn the ever-increasing renewable-energy demand scenario, developing new photovoltaic technologies is important, even in the presence of established terawatt-scale silicon technology. Emerging photovoltaic technologies play a crucial role in diversifying material flows while expanding the photovoltaic product portfolio, thus enhancing security and competitiveness within the solar industry. They also serve as a valuable backup for silicon photovoltaic, providing resilience to the overall energy infrastructure.

Enhanced Photostability of Lead Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals with Mn Incorporation.

Recently, lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) have shown great potential and have been widely studied in lighting and optoelectronic fields. However, the long-term stability of perovskite NCs under irradiation is an important challenge for their application in practice. Mn dopants are mostly proposed as substitutes for the Pb site in perovskite NCs synthesized through the hot-injection method, with the aim of improving both photo- and thermal stability.

Polymer-acid-metal quasi-ohmic contact for stable perovskite solar cells beyond a 20,000-hour extrapolated lifetime.

The development of a robust quasi-ohmic contact with minimal resistance, good stability and cost-effectiveness is crucial for perovskite solar cells. We introduce a generic approach featuring a Lewis-acid layer sandwiched between dopant-free semicrystalline polymer and metal electrode in perovskite solar cells, resulting in an ideal quasi-ohmic contact even at elevated temperature up to 85 °C. The solubility of Lewis acid in alcohol facilitates nondestructive solution processing on top of polymer, which boosts hole injection from polymer into metal by two orders of magnitude.

Bypassing the Single Junction Limit with Advanced Photovoltaic Architectures.

Multijunction devices and photon up- and down-conversion are prominent concepts aimed at increasing photovoltaic efficiencies beyond the single junction limit. Integrating these concepts into advanced architectures may address long-standing issues such as processing complexity, microstructure control, and resilience against spectral changes of the incoming radiation. However, so far, no models have been established to predict the performance of such integrated architectures.

Volatile Perovskite Precursor Ink Enables Window Printing of Phase-Pure FAPbI Perovskite Solar Cells and Modules in Ambient Atmosphere.

Despite the great success of perovskite photovoltaics in terms of device efficiency and stability using laboratory-scale spin-coating methods, the demand for high-throughput and cost-effective solutions remains unresolved and rarely reported because of the complicated nature of perovskite crystallization. In this work, we propose a stable precursor ink design strategy to control the solvent volatilization and perovskite crystallization to enable the wide speed window printing (0.3 to 18.

Maximizing Performance and Stability of Organic Solar Cells at Low Driving Force for Charge Separation.

Thanks to the development of novel electron acceptor materials, the power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices are now approaching 20%. Further improvement of PCE is complicated by the need for a driving force to split strongly bound excitons into free charges, causing voltage losses. This review discusses recent approaches to finding efficient OPV systems with minimal driving force, combining near unity quantum efficiency (maximum short circuit currents) with optimal energy efficiency (maximum open circuit voltages).

AgInS/ZnS Quantum Dots for Luminescent Down-Shifting and Antireflective Layer in Enhancing Photovoltaic Performance.

Colloidal AgInS/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) have recently emerged as a promising, efficient, nontoxic, down-shifting material in optoelectronic devices. These QDs exhibit a high photoluminescent quantum yield and offer a range of potential applications, specifically in the field of photovoltaics (PVs) for light management. In this work, we report an eco-friendly method to synthesize AgInS/ZnS QDs and deposit them on commercial silicon solar cells (with an active area of 7.

Integrated System Built for Small-Molecule Semiconductors via High-Throughput Approaches.

High-throughput synthesis of solution-processable structurally variable small-molecule semiconductors is both an opportunity and a challenge. A large number of diverse molecules provide a possibility for quick material discovery and machine learning based on experimental data. However, the diversity of the molecular structure leads to the complexity of molecular properties, such as solubility, polarity, and crystallinity, which poses great challenges to solution processing and purification.

All Printed Photoanode/Photovoltaic Mini-Module for Water Splitting.

Printing a large-area bismuth vanadate photoanode offers a promising approach for cost-effective photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. However, the light absorption trade-off with charge transfer, as well as stability issues always lead to poor PEC efficiency. Here, the solution-processed recipe is advanced with BiI dopant for the printed deposition with controllable crystal growth.

Power-Law Density of States in Organic Solar Cells Revealed by the Open-Circuit Voltage Dependence of the Ideality Factor.

The density of states (DOS) is fundamentally important for understanding physical processes in organic disordered semiconductors, yet hard to determine experimentally. We evaluated the DOS by considering recombination via tail states and using the temperature and open-circuit voltage (V_{oc}) dependence of the ideality factor. By performing Suns-V_{oc} measurements, we find that the energetic disorder increases deeper into the band gap, which is not expected for a Gaussian or exponential DOS.

Sustainability considerations for organic electronic products.

The development of organic electronic applications has reached a critical point. While markets, including the Internet of Things, transparent solar and flexible displays, gain momentum, organic light-emitting diode displays lead the way, with a current market size of over $25 billion, helping to create the infrastructure and ecosystem for other applications to follow. It is imperative to design built-in sustainability into the materials selection, processing and device architectures of all of these emerging applications, and to close the loop for a circular approach.