Name: key factors affecting the performance of sb2s3-sensitized solar cells during an sb2s3 deposition via sbcl3-thiourea complex solution-processing
Uploaded: 2018-07-16T15:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Key Factors Affecting the Performance of Sb2S3-sensitized Solar Cells During an Sb2S3 Deposition via SbCl3-thiourea Complex Solution-processing at JoVE.com

This work was supported by the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) R&#38;D Programs of the Ministry of Science and ICT, Republic of Korea (Grants No. 18-ET-01 and 18-01-HRSS-04).

1. Synthesis of the TiO2-BL Solution
<ol>
	<li>Prepare 2 transparent vials with a 50 mL volume.</li>
	<li>Add 20 mL of ethanol to 1 vial (V1) and seal V1.</li>
	<li>Transfer V1 to an N2-filled glove box with a moisture-controlled system of an H2O level of &#60; 1 ppm.</li>
	<li>Add 1.225 mL of titanium (IV) isopropoxide (TTIP) to V1 using a syringe with a 0.45 &#181;m PVDF filter and gently stir the mixture for at least 30 min. 
	NOTE: This step must be performed in a glove box (or...

<ol>
	<li>Choi, Y. C., Lee, D. U., Noh, J. H., Kim, E. K., Seok, S. I. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Highly+Improved+Sb2S3+Sensitized-Inorganic-Organic+Heterojunction+Solar+Cells+and+Quantification+of+Traps+by+Deep-Level+Transient+Spectroscopy.">Highly Improved Sb2S3 Sensitized-Inorganic-Organic Heterojunction Solar Cells and Quantification of Traps by Deep-Level Transient Spectroscopy.</a> Advanced Functional Materials. 24 (23), 3587-3592 (2014).</li><li>Kim, D. -. H., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Highly+reproducible+planar+Sb2S3-sensitized+solar+cells+based+on+atomic+layer+deposition.">Highly reproducible planar Sb2S3-sensitized solar cells based on atomic layer deposition.</a> Nanoscale. 6 (23), 14549-14554 (2014).</li><li>Choi, Y. C., Seok, S. 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C., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Efficient+Inorganic-Organic+Heterojunction+Solar+Cells+Employing+Sb2(Sx/Se1-x)3+Graded-Composition+Sensitizers.">Efficient Inorganic-Organic Heterojunction Solar Cells Employing Sb2(Sx/Se1-x)3 Graded-Composition Sensitizers.</a> Advanced Energy Materials. 4 (7), 1301680 (2014).</li><li>Choi, Y. C., Yeom, E. J., Ahn, T. K., Seok, S. I. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=CuSbS2-Sensitized+Inorganic-Organic+Heterojunction+Solar+Cells+Fabricated+Using+a+Metal-Thiourea+Complex+Solution.">CuSbS2-Sensitized Inorganic-Organic Heterojunction Solar Cells Fabricated Using a Metal-Thiourea Complex Solution.</a> Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 54 (13), 4005-4009 (2015).</li><li>Versavel, M. Y., Haber, J. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Structural+and+optical+properties+of+amorphous+and+crystalline+antimony+sulfide+thin-films.">Structural and optical properties of amorphous and crystalline antimony sulfide thin-films.</a> Thin Solid Films. 515 (18), 7171-7176 (2007).</li><li>Yang, B., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Hydrazine+solution+processed+Sb2S3,+Sb2Se3+and+Sb2(S1-xSex)3+film:+molecular+precursor+identification,+film+fabrication+and+band+gap+tuning.">Hydrazine solution processed Sb2S3, Sb2Se3 and Sb2(S1-xSex)3 film: molecular precursor identification, film fabrication and band gap tuning.</a> Scientific Reports. 5, 10978 (2015).</li><li>Peng, B., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Systematic+investigation+of+the+role+of+compact+TiO2+layer+in+solid+state+dye-sensitized+TiO2+solar+cells.">Systematic investigation of the role of compact TiO2 layer in solid state dye-sensitized TiO2 solar cells.</a> Coordination Chemistry Reviews. 248 (13-14), 1479-1489 (2004).</li><li>Chen, C., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Accelerated+Optimization+of+TiO2/Sb2Se3+Thin+Film+Solar+Cells+by+High-Throughput+Combinatorial+Approach.">Accelerated Optimization of TiO2/Sb2Se3 Thin Film Solar Cells by High-Throughput Combinatorial Approach.</a> Advanced Energy Materials. 7 (20), 1700866 (2017).</li><li>Sung, S. -. 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TiO2-BL is widely used as a hole-blocking layer in solar cells. As shown in Figure 2, a large difference was observed in the device performance depending on the TiO2-BL thickness. Therefore, its thickness should be optimized to obtain the best overall device performance, because it critically acts as a hole-blocking layer to prevent any direct contact between FTO and hole-transporting materials11. It should be noted that the optimum thickness var...

Antimony-based chalcogenides (Sb-Chs), including Sb2S3, Sb2Se3, Sb2(S,Se)3, and CuSbS2, are considered to be emerging materials that can be used in next-generation solar cells1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. However, photovoltaic devices based on Sb-Chs light absorbers have not yet reached the 10% power conversion efficiency (PCE) required to demonstrate feasible commercialization.
To overcome these limitations, various methods and techniques have been applied, such as a thioacetamide-induced surface treatment1, a room temperature deposition method4, an atomic layer deposition technique2, and the use of colloid dot quantum dots6. Among these various methods, the solution-processing based on a chemical bath decomposition exhibited the highest performance1. However, a precise control of the chemical reaction and the post-treatment are required to achieve the best performance1,3.
Recently, we developed a simple solution-processing for high-performance Sb2S3-sensitized solar cells using a SbCl3-thiourea (TU) complex solution3. Using this method, we were able to fabricate a quality Sb2S3 with a controlled Sb/S ratio, which was applied to a solar cell to achieve a comparable device performance of 6.4% PCE. We were also able to effectively reduce the processing time since the Sb2S3 was fabricated by a single-step deposition.
In this work, we describe the detailed experimental procedure for an Sb2S3 deposition on the substrate consisting of mesoporous TiO2 (mp-TiO2)/TiO2 blocking layer (TiO2-BL)/F-doped SnO2 (FTO) glass for the fabrication of Sb2S3-sensitized solar cells via SbCl3-TU complex solution-processing3. In addition, three key factors affecting the photovoltaic performance in the course of an Sb2S3 deposition were identified and discussed. The concept of the method can be easily applied to other sensitizer-type solar cells based on metal sulfides.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="847">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:316px;">Ethyl alcohol, Pure, &#62;99.5%</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">459836</td>
			<td style="width:176px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:316px;">Titanium(IV) isopropoxide 97%</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">205273</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:316px;">Nitic acid, ACS reagent, 70%</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">438073</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:316px;">Antimony(III) chloride</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">311375</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:316px;">Thiourea</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">T7875</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:316px;">N,N-Dimethylformamide, anhydrous, 99.8%</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">227056</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:316px;">TiO2 paste with 50 nm particles</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">ShareChem</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">SC-HT040</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:316px;">Poly(3-hexylthiophene)</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">1-Material</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">PH0148</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:316px;">Chlorobenzene</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">284513</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:316px;">FTO/glass (8 Ohmos/sq)</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">Pilkington</td>
			<td style="width:129px;"></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:316px;">Spin coater</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">DONG AH TRADE CORP</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">ACE-200</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:316px;">Hot plate</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">AS ONE Corporation</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">HHP-411</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:316px;">Glove box</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">KIYON</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">KK-021AS</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:316px;">UV OZONE Cleaner</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">AHTECH LTS</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">AC-6</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:316px;">Furnace</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">WiseTherm</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">FP-14</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:316px;">UV/Vis Absorption spectroscopy</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">PerkinElmer</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">Lambda 750</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:316px;">Multifunctional evaporator with glove box</td>
			<td style="width:227px;">DAEDONG HIGH TECHNOLOGIES</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">DDHT-SDP007</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

key factors affecting the performance of sb2s3-sensitized solar cells during an sb2s3 deposition via sbcl3-thiourea complex solution-processing

Sb2S3 is considered as one of the emerging light absorbers that can be applied to next-generation solar cells because of its unique optical and electrical properties. Recently, we demonstrated its potential as next-generation solar cells by achieving a high photovoltaic efficiency of &#62; 6% in Sb2S3-sensitized solar cells using a simple thiourea (TU)-based complex solution method. Here, we describe the key experimental procedures for the deposition of Sb2S3 on a mesoporous TiO2 (mp-TiO2) layer using a SbCl3-TU complex solution in the fabrication of solar cells. First, the SbCl3-TU solution is synthesized by dissolving SbCl3 and TU in N,N-dimethylformamide at different molar ratios of SbCl3:TU. Then, the solution is deposited on as-prepared substrates consisting of mp-TiO2/TiO2-blocking layer/F-doped SnO2 glass by spin coating. Finally, to form crystalline Sb2S3, the samples are annealed in an N2-filled glove box at 300 &#176;C. The effects of the experimental parameters on the photovoltaic device performance are also discussed.

Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of the experimental procedure for the Sb2S3 deposition on the substrate of mp-TiO2/TiO2-BL/FTO glass. Figure 1d shows the basic properties and scheme of a typical product fabricated by the method described herein. The main X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern is well matched with that of a stibnite Sb2S3 structure<sup class="xre...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Key Factors Affecting the Performance of Sb2S3-sensitized Solar Cells During an Sb2S3 Deposition via SbCl3-thiourea Complex Solution-processing at JoVE.com

Key Factors Affecting the Performance of Sb2S3-sensitized Solar Cells During an Sb2S3 Deposition via SbCl3-thiourea Complex Solution-processing

This work provides a detailed experimental procedure for the deposition of Sb2S3 on a mesoporous TiO2 layer using a SbCl3-thiourea complex solution for applications in Sb2S3-sensitized solar cells. This article also determines key factors governing the deposition process.

Key Factors Affecting the Performance of Sb2S3-sensitized Solar Cells During an Sb2S3 Deposition via SbCl3-thiourea Complex Solution-processing

Sb2S3 is considered as one of the emerging light absorbers that can be applied to next-generation solar cells because of its unique optical and electrical ...

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