Download or read book Hybrid Transparent Conductive Oxide Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic Applications written by Marwa Abd-Ellah and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Ontario, there are great incentives to invest in solar cell research through the Feed-In Tariff program, which has successfully increased the total connected capacity of solar power in Ontario to well over 215 MW. Extensive studies have been conducted on fabrication of efficient solar cells, with the most mature technology being silicon-based solar cells. However, other types of solar cells have been introduced as alternatives to silicon based solar cells due to their laborious work, energy consumption, and high cost of production. Different inorganic and organic photovoltaic systems including dye-sensitized, organic/polymer, quantum-dot, and hybrid nanocrystal/polymer hetero-junctions solar cells have been proposed to provide comparable efficiencies. Transparent conductive oxides are usually the main component in any solar system because of its role as an electrode photoanode, acting as a diffusion barrier and an open-circuit voltage attenuator. These are due to their high electrical conductivity, wide optical transmittance, and relatively ease of synthesis. As a result, a rich amount of studies on their synthesis, modification, and application as photo-catalytic electrodes, gas sensors, photonic crystals, and solar cell photoanodes exists in the literature. Their use in photovoltaics as thin film materials has since evolved into nanostructured films, as numerous studies have showed that the material morphology is an important parameter in improving solar cell performance. Many nanostructured transparent conductive oxide films have been extensively investigated for use as an n-type semiconductor in a p-n junction solar cell system or as a photoanode in a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Thus far these applications have proven challenging in terms of achieving high device efficiencies, particularly by taking advantage of their inherently higher surface area-to-volume ratio, better photon harvesting, and enhanced interparticle charge transport with shorter diffusion lengths across the device structure. With a large direct band gap (3.37 eV), a large exciton binding energy (60 m eV), and high electron mobility (120 cm2 V-1 s-1), zinc oxide (ZnO) is considered an excellent candidate as an (n-type) transparent semiconducting material at room temperature for photovoltaic application. In the present work, two different ZnO nanostructural morphologies are prepared by controlling the electrolyte conductivity using a direct, catalyst- and seed-layer free electrodeposition method. The effect of deposition time and temperature on the growth of the high-specific-surface-area ZnO nanotubes electrodeposited is studied. Furthermore, the morphology, crystallinity, and chemical composition of the resulting ZnO nanotubes and nanorods are fully characterized with a proposed model of their growth mechanism. These one-dimensional ZnO nanostructures are then employed as an n-type semiconductor, along with a p-type Cu2O thin film, to fabricate an inorganic p-n junction solar cell. As an important step to improve device performance, the electrical and optical properties of the p-type Cu2O film are optimized by simple annealing. Two different device structures, consisting of the electrodeposited ZnO nanorods and nanotubes grown on the top of a thick n-type ZnO seed layer (500 nm) covered by an optimized (2.5[mu]m) p-type Cu2O layer (in order to provide the full built-in potential across the junction area), are fabricated. The relations of structural morphology (i.e. nanotube vs nanorod) and characteristic solar cell parameters are investigated. The new device architecture is found to offer minimum leakage path and reduced recombination loss expected in a typical nanostructure-based solar cell. A photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.8 % is obtained for ZnO nanotubes compared to other traditional one-dimensional nanostructures (i.e. nanorods or nanowires) that is due to the increased junction area and the better charge collection. These results illustrate the advantage of single-step electrodeposition of ZnO nanotubes, which provide a larger interfacial area and a much lower defect density than previously reported nanotubes obtained by etching ZnO nanorods. Taking advantage of their higher electron dynamics than the classical TiO2, ZnO and SnO2 are employed as photoanode materials to fabricate an organic DSSC system. To further improve the optical absorption, the effects of surface modification using gold nanoparticles to ZnO nanotubes are investigated. Different gold electrolyte concentrations are used to manipulate the plasmonic nanoparticle size while deposition time is used to control the aerial density. These studies lead to a significant increase in the PCE for DSSC based on ZnO nanotubes with gold nanoparticle modification (6%) when compared to that with pristine ZnO nanotubes (4.7%). Surface decoration with plasmonic gold nanoparticles therefore provides an efficient approach to creating not only high surface area for superior loading of dye molecules but also enhanced absorption specifically in the visible range by taking advantage of their surface plasmon resonance effect. Hierarchical one-dimensional SnO2 nanostructures are also employed as photoanode material for DSSC application. With a band gap of 3.8 eV, low UV degradation characteristic and generally high thermal and chemical stability, SnO2 is also an excellent photoanode alternative to TiO2. Almost 10-fold enhancement of PCE (3.6%) when compared with pristine SnO2 nanobelts with (0.48%) is obtained for these hierarchical SnO2 nanostructures. This significant improvement is in part due to better dye loading of highly branched nanostructures. Additional surface passivation has also been performed on the as-deposited hierarchical SnO2 nanostructures by dip-coating with an MgO passivation layer of appropriately optimized thickness. Such an insulating layer is found to effectively reduce the recombination loss process caused by the higher electron mobility of SnO2 photoanode nanostructures. This MgO-passivation treatment further enhances the PCE to (4.14%). The present work therefore shows that one-dimensional ZnO and SnO2 nanostructures provide a viable, powerful platform for developing the next-generation photovoltaic devices. This study further demonstrates the novel techniques used to significantly enhance the PCEs for both inorganic p-n junction solar cell and organic DSSC.

Download or read book Handbook of Transparent Conductors written by David S. Ginley and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-09-11 with total page 537 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Transparent conducting materials are key elements in a wide variety of current technologies including flat panel displays, photovoltaics, organic, low-e windows and electrochromics. The needs for new and improved materials is pressing, because the existing materials do not have the performance levels to meet the ever- increasing demand, and because some of the current materials used may not be viable in the future. In addition, the field of transparent conductors has gone through dramatic changes in the last 5-7 years with new materials being identified, new applications and new people in the field. “Handbook of Transparent Conductors” presents transparent conductors in a historical perspective, provides current applications as well as insights into the future of the devices. It is a comprehensive reference, and represents the most current resource on the subject.

Download or read book The Future of Semiconductor Oxides in Next Generation Solar Cells written by Monica Lira-Cantu and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2017-09-19 with total page 568 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Future of Semiconductor Oxides in Next-Generation Solar Cells begins with several chapters covering the synthesis of semiconductor oxides for NGSCs. Part II goes on to cover the types and applications of NGSCs currently under development, while Part III brings the two together, covering specific processing techniques for NGSC construction. Finally, Part IV discusses the stability of SO solar cells compared to organic solar cells, and the possibilities offered by hybrid technologies. This comprehensive book is an essential reference for all those academics and professionals who require thorough knowledge of recent and future developments in the role of semiconductor oxides in next generation solar cells. - Unlocks the potential of advanced semiconductor oxides to transform Next Generation Solar Cell (NGSC) design - Full coverage of new developments and recent research make this essential reading for researchers and engineers alike - Explains the synthesis and processing of semiconductor oxides with a view to their use in NGSCs

Download or read book Transparent Conductive Oxides written by Mirela Petruta Şuchea and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2025-08-01 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although transparency and electrical conductivity are inherently conflicting, transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) feature both properties simultaneously to some extent. TCOs are very useful materials that find applicability in a large number of fields, especially solar energy harvesting. The goal of Transparent Conductive Oxides is to provide the reader the most important information regarding the fundaments of TCOs, their chemical and physical characteristics. Conditions that enable the development of novel TCOs following the principles of the materials design are discussed. Experimental methods for synthesizing and growing TCOs and characterization techniques are reviewed, Finally, state of the art achievements in TCOs and current challenges are debated. To achieve this aim, the book contains three main parts; the first part covers the fundamentals, the second part addresses fabrication and characterization methods, and the last part includes an overview the actual state of TCOs development and establishes the goals for research in the future.Transparent Conductive Oxides is suitable for those in academia and industry in the disciplines of materials science, physics, and chemistry.•Discusses present challenges for adoption of transparent conductive oxides and potential future solutions•Reviews current and emerging applications of transparent conductive oxides in energy, electronics, and biology•Includes overview of fundamental properties, common transparent conductive oxide materials, and synthesis, fabrication, characterization, and processing methods

Download or read book Nanostructured Materials and Nanotechnology IV written by Sanjay Mathur and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2010-11-23 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This issue contains 17 peer-reviewed (invited and contributed) papers covering various aspects and the latest developments related to processing, modeling and manufacturing technologies of nanoscaled materials including inorganic-organic nanocomposites, nanowire-based sensors, new generation photovoltaic cells, self-assembly of nanostructures, functional nanostructures for cell tracking and heterostructures. Each manuscript was peer-reviewed using The American Ceramic Society review process.

Download or read book Emerging Photovoltaic Materials written by Santosh K. Kurinec and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-12-03 with total page 759 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book covers the recent advances in photovoltaics materials and their innovative applications. Many materials science problems are encountered in understanding existing solar cells and the development of more efficient, less costly, and more stable cells. This important and timely book provides a historical overview, but concentrates primarily on the exciting developments in the last decade. It includes organic and perovskite solar cells, photovoltaics in ferroelectric materials, organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite, materials with improved photovoltaic efficiencies as well as the full range of semiconductor materials for solar-to-electricity conversion, from crystalline silicon and amorphous silicon to cadmium telluride, copper indium gallium sulfide selenides, dye sensitized solar cells, organic solar cells, and environmentally-friendly copper zinc tin sulfide selenides.

Download or read book Nanostructured Materials and their Applications written by Bibhu Prasad Swain and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-10-28 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book provides an introduction to nanostructured materials and guides the reader through their different engineering applications. It gives an overview of nanostructured materials applied in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and materials science. Materials for different applications in engineering such as those used in opto-electronics, energy, tribology, bio-applications, catalysis, reinforcement and many more have been described in this book. The book will be of interest to researchers and students who want to learn about applications of nanostructured materials in engineering.

Download or read book Graphene for Transparent Conductors written by Qingbin Zheng and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-07-01 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a systematic presentation of the principles and practices behind the synthesis and functionalization of graphene and grapheme oxide (GO), as well as the fabrication techniques for transparent conductors from these materials. Transparent conductors are used in a wide variety of photoelectronic and photovoltaic devices, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), solar cells, optical communication devices, and solid-state lighting. Thin films made from indium tin oxide (ITO) have thus far been the dominant source of transparent conductors, and now account for 50% of indium consumption. However, the price of Indium has increased 1000% in the last 10 years. Graphene, a two-dimensional monolayer of sp2-bonded carbon atoms, has attracted significant interest because of its unique transport properties. Because of their high optical transmittance and electrical conductivity, thin film electrodes made from graphene nanosheets have been considered an ideal candidate to replace expensive ITO films. Graphene for Transparent Conductors offers a systematic presentation of the principles, theories and technical practices behind the structure–property relationship of the thin films, which are the key to the successful development of high-performance transparent conductors. At the same time, the unique perspectives provided in the applications of graphene and GO as transparent conductors will serve as a general guide to the design and fabrication of thin film materials for specific applications.

Download or read book Solution Processed Metal Oxide Thin Films for Electronic Applications written by Zheng Cui and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2020-06-11 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Solution Processed Metal Oxide Thin Films for Electronic Applications discusses the fundamentals of solution processing materials chemistry techniques as they are applied to metal oxide materials systems for key device applications. The book introduces basic information (materials properties, materials synthesis, barriers), discusses ink formulation and solution processing methods, including sol-gel processing, surface functionalization aspects, and presents a comprehensive accounting on the electronic applications of solution processed metal oxide films, including thin film transistors, photovoltaic cells and other electronics devices and circuits. This is an important reference for those interested in oxide electronics, printed electronics, flexible electronics and large-area electronics. - Provides in-depth information on solution processing fundamentals, techniques, considerations and barriers combined with key device applications - Reviews important device applications, including transistors, light-emitting diodes, and photovoltaic cells - Includes an overview of metal oxide materials systems (semiconductors, nanomaterials and thin films), addressing materials synthesis, properties, limitations and surface aspects

Download or read book Chemically Deposited Nanocrystalline Metal Oxide Thin Films written by Fabian I. Ezema and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-06-26 with total page 926 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book guides beginners in the areas of thin film preparation, characterization, and device making, while providing insight into these areas for experts. As chemically deposited metal oxides are currently gaining attention in development of devices such as solar cells, supercapacitors, batteries, sensors, etc., the book illustrates how the chemical deposition route is emerging as a relatively inexpensive, simple, and convenient solution for large area deposition. The advancement in the nanostructured materials for the development of devices is fully discussed.

Download or read book Carbon Nanotube Transparent Electrodes for Photovoltaic Applications written by Michael Wallace Rowell and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Virtually all solar cells require a transparent and conductive (TC) layer on the top surface that allows sunlight to enter the cell and photoexcited charge to be conducted laterally across the top surface. The impact on power conversion efficiency due to reflection, absorption, resistive losses and lost active area is a reduction by 10 -- 25 %, relative. Historically, doped metal oxides such as tin doped indium oxide (ITO) have been used. In the last several years, however, there has been renewed interest in this area with the development of several new nanostructured materials, many of which have the potential for performance, processing, and cost advantages. In the first portion of this work, we describe TC related efficiency losses in detail for the two major categories of solar cells. For thin film monolithically integrated modules, TC related losses can be as high as 25 % and for standard modules of cell strung together losses are typically 10 -- 15 %. For the purpose of developing new TC materials, we specify the material performance requirements for a competitive TC material and show the expected TC related efficiency losses in photovoltaic (PV) modules for any material of known electrical and optical properties. We then provide an overview of the leading nanostructured materials and show that carbon nanotubes (CNT) have basic optoelectronic material properties that are superior to traditional metal oxides. We exhibit the first demonstration of a highly flexible organic solar cell using carbon nanotube films as the TC. The achieved power conversion efficiency of 2.5 % is comparable to the 3.0 % efficiency of the control device using ITO and the flexibility of the CNT device is far greater. Finally, we detail an in-depth investigation of the electrical properties of carbon nanotube networks in order to determine and understand the performance limitations. For this, we develop a novel method of atomic force microscope (AFM) scratch lithography in order to isolate individual CNT bundles and a novel method of electric force microscopy (EFM) in order to quantitatively measure local contact resistances on the nanoscale between CNT bundles. We measure bundle-to-bundle junction resistance for a range of bundle diameters which reveals a previously unobserved inverse scaling of contact resistance with diameter. Values range from 1 kOhm to 200 kOhm for bundle diameters typical of CNT TC networks. We also measure the resistivity of ropes of bundles and we find that this resistance is very high and limits the conductivity of the CNT TC films studied in this work. The structure property relationships revealed from these measurements clearly show what type of morphology control is necessary for high performance CNT TCs and that increasing tube length and/or decreasing junction resistance are the primary routes for further increases in performance.

Download or read book Nanostructured Materials for Type III Photovoltaics written by Peter Skabara and published by Royal Society of Chemistry. This book was released on 2017-11-08 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Materials for type III solar cells have branched into a series of generic groups. These include organic ‘small molecule’ and polymer conjugated structures, fullerenes, quantum dots, copper indium gallium selenide nanocrystal films, dyes/TiO2 for Grätzel cells, hybrid organic/inorganic composites and perovskites. Whilst the power conversion efficiencies of organic solar cells are modest compared to other type III photovoltaic materials, plastic semiconductors provide a cheap route to manufacture through solution processing and offer flexible devices. However, other types of materials are proving to be compatible with this type of processing whilst providing higher device efficiencies. As a result, the field is experiencing healthy competition between technologies that is pushing progress at a fast rate. In particular, perovskite solar cells have emerged very recently as a highly disruptive technology with power conversion efficiencies now over 20%. Perovskite cells, however, still have to address stability and environmental issues. With such a diverse range of materials, it is timely to capture the different technologies into a single volume of work. This book will give a collective insight into the different roles that nanostructured materials play in type III solar cells. This will be an essential text for those working with any of the devices highlighted above, providing a fundamental understanding and appreciation of the potential and challenges associated with each of these technologies.

Download or read book Oxide Free Nanomaterials for Energy Storage and Conversion Applications written by Prabhakarn Arunachalam and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2021-12-01 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Oxide Free Nanomaterials for Energy Storage and Conversion Applications covers in depth topics on non-oxide nanomaterials involving transition metal nitrides, carbides, selenides, phosphides, oxynitrides based electrodes, & other non-oxide groups. The current application of nanostructured nonoxides involves their major usage in energy storage and conversion devices variety of applications such as supercapacitor, batteries, dye-sensitized solar cells and hydrogen production applications. The current application of energy storage devices involves their usage of nanostructured non-oxide materials with improved energy and power densities. In this book readers will discover the major advancements in this field during the past decades. The various techniques used to prepare environmentally friendly nanostructured non-oxide materials, their structural and morphological characterization, their improved mechanical and material properties, and finally, current applications and future impacts of these materials are discussed. While planning and fabricating non-oxide materials, the readers must be concern over that they ought to be abundant, cost-efficient and environment-friendly for clean innovation and conceivably be of use in an expansive choice of utilization. The book gives detailed literature on the development of nanostructured non-oxides, their use as energy related devices and their present trend in the industry and market. This book also emphasis on the latest advancement about application of these noble non-oxide based materials for photocatalytic water-splitting. Recent progress on various kinds of both photocatalytic and electrocatalytic nanomaterials is reviewed, and essential aspects which govern catalytic behaviours and the corresponding stability are discussed. The book will give an updated literature on the synthesis, potential applications and future of nanostructured non-oxides in energy related applications. This book is highly useful to researchers working in the field with diversified backgrounds are expected to making the chapter truly interdisciplinary in nature. The contents in the book will emphasize the recent advances in interdisciplinary research on processing, morphology, structure and properties of nanostructured non-materials and their applications in energy applications such as supercapacitors, batteries, solar cells, electrochemical water splitting and other energy applications. Thus, nanotechnology researchers, scientists and experts need to have update of the growing trends and applications in the field of science and technology. Further, the postgraduate students, scientists, researchers and technologists are need to buy this book. - Offers a comprehensive coverage of the nanostructured non-oxide materials and their potential energy applications - Examines the properties of nanostructured non-oxide materials that make them so adaptable - Explores the mechanisms by which nanoparticles interact with each other, showing how these can be used for industrial applications - Shows the how nanostructured non-oxide materials are used in a wide range of industry sectors, containing energy production and storage

Download or read book Graphene written by Wonbong Choi and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2016-04-19 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the late 20th century, graphene-a one-atom-thick planar sheet of sp2-bonded carbon atoms densely packed in a honeycomb crystal lattice-has garnered appreciable attention as a potential next-generation electronic material due to its exceptional properties. These properties include high current density, ballistic transport, chemical inertness,

Download or read book Nanostructured Metal Oxides and Devices written by M. K. Jayaraj and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-04-16 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book primarily covers the fundamental science, synthesis, characterization, optoelectronic properties, and applications of metal oxide nanomaterials. It discusses the basic aspects of synthetic procedures and fabrication technologies, explains the related experimental techniques and also elaborates on the current status of nanostructured oxide materials and related devices. Two major aspects of metal oxide nanostructures – their optical and electrical properties – are described in detail. The first five chapters focus on the optical characteristics of semiconducting materials, especially metal oxides at the nanoscale. The following five chapters discuss the electrical properties observed in metal oxide-based semiconductors and the status quo of device-level developments in a variety of applications such as sensors, transistors, dilute magnetic semiconductors, and dielectric materials. The basic science and mechanism behind the optoelectronic phenomena are explained in detail, to aid readers interested in the structure–property symbiosis in semiconducting nanomaterials. In short, the book offers a valuable reference guide for researchers and academics in the areas of material science and semiconductor technology, especially nanophotonics and electronics.

Download or read book Nanostructured Materials and Nanotechnology III Volume 30 Issue 7 written by Sanjay Mathur and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-12-17 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This useful resource will help you understand the most valuable aspects of nanostructured materials and nanotechnology. Containing 16 peer-reviewed papers, this issue covers various aspects and the latest developments related to processing, modeling and manufacturing technologies of nanoscaled materials including CNT and clay-based composites, nanowire-based sensors, new generation photovoltaic cells, plasma processing of functional thin films, ceramic membranes and self-assembled functional nanostructures.

Download or read book Oxide Nanostructures written by Avanish Kumar Srivastava and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2014-04-09 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nanomaterials, their synthesis, and property studies have been an obsession with modern current physicists, chemist, and materials scientists for their vast array of technological implications and the remarkable way their properties are modified or enhanced when the size dimensions are reduced to the realm of nanometers. Although nanomaterials, for