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Chalcogenide-Based 2D Nanomaterials for Solar Cells
Published in Ram K. Gupta, Energy Applications of 2D Nanomaterials, 2022
Some chalcogenide-based semiconducting substances having appropriate values of bandgap are CdS, CdSe, PbSe, GeS, CdTe, CIGS, and CZTS. These members of 2D chalcogenides are capable to perform well when they are exposed to visible light. Various researchers have tried to explore them broadly [1]. The utilization of chalcogenide substances designed at nano-scale like semiconducting TFs has been explored in solar cells because of enhancement in the photoelectrical properties. The photocurrent or photoconductivity is increased markedly thanks to simple synthesis approach, large surface area, bandgap alteration, and better kinetics of charge separation. Cadmium telluride is the widely used material whose TFs are globally employed in solar cell industry as a consequence of a project on first solar’s utility-scale. In First Solar’s event, the TFs of Cd and Te are obtained by using a glass substrate for deposition. It was in the year 2016 a breakthrough came in this field as the solar cell of cadmium telluride having efficiency of 22.1% with average value 17% of efficiency for corresponding modules. It is expected that the Series 6 module should create a power of 420 W, whereas initial version (i.e., series 4 modules) creates a peak value of power nearly 100 W.
Vapor Power Cycles and Alternative Power Systems
Published in Irving Granet, Jorge Luis Alvarado, Maurice Bluestein, Thermodynamics and Heat Power, 2020
Irving Granet, Jorge Luis Alvarado, Maurice Bluestein
When solar energy is converted directly into electricity, the photovoltaic effect is utilized. Figure 8.23 shows the principle of the photovoltaic effect. Sunlight falls on the semiconductor cell, and its photons are absorbed in the base material. This releases electrons that migrate to the “n” layer. The resulting imbalance of charge between the two regions creates a voltage potential like that in a battery. Connection to an external load results in the flow of dc electricity. While silicon solar cells have been the dominant type of cell used, materials such as cadmium sulfide/cadmium telluride, germanium, selenium, and gallium arsenide have also been used for photovoltaic cells. Of these materials, cadmium telluride is less efficient but cheaper to manufacture. A typical cell produces 1−2 W, and so arrays or modules of cells are created to produce enough power. Photovoltaic units can work even in partial sun. The best of the current photovoltaic cells has an efficiency of 15%. Excessive pollutants and dust can reduce these amounts further. It should be noted that the electricity produced is dc, so if installed for home use, it needs to be converted to ac, thereby incurring another inefficiency and requiring more equipment. Today, photovoltaics are used to power small systems like water pumps, and in lighting applications where electricity is stored during the day and used at night.
Energy Harvesting Techniques for Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks
Published in V. Çağri Güngör, Gerhard P. Hancke, Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks, 2017
Gurkan Tuna, Vehbi Cagri Gungor, Kayhan Gulez
The conversion efficiency of solar cells is around 15% [9], [37]. Besides the low conversion efficiency of solar cells, solar panels exhibit current source-like behavior. Hence, to provide a stable voltage to sensor nodes, rechargeable batteries or ultracapacitors are used to store the harvested energy. The advantage of this technique is that there are various commercially available solar cells including silicone, thin film, plastic based solar cells in the market. Also, there are specific solar panels which are small enough to fit the form factor of wireless sensor nodes [42]. Among many types of solar cells, in spite of the low efficiency in the range of 8 – 13%, thin film cadmium telluride cells are commonly preferred for the reason that they give satisfactory performance under various light conditions [30].
Nanomaterials in 2-dimensions for flexible solar cell applications – a review
Published in Cogent Engineering, 2022
Benjamin Agyei-Tuffour, Kwadwo Mensah-Darkwa, Daniel Nframah Ampong, Elizabeth Adzo Addae, Gerald Selasie Gbadam, Clarisa Naa Shormeh Darko, Afia Owusua Akyaw, John Adjah, Joseph Asare, Guixiang Li, Neill J. Goosen
Cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaics (PVs) are efficient and economical power systems which yield a high energy return on investment with a short payback time. A typical CdTe cell consists of a CdTe absorber layer; a cadmium sulfide (CdS) window layer; back and front contact layers; and a substrate, arranged in either the superstrate (Figure 14a) or the substrate (Figure 14b) configurations. The performance of a CdTe cell is strongly dependent on the morphology of the absorber layer, which is usually affected by the type of substrate used. In superstrate configuration, transparent substrates (glass and polymers) are usually employed to facilitate the transmission of light through the cell, whereas flexible metal foils are used for the substrate configuration. Because the substrate configuration usually yields lower efficiencies, its back contact has been doped with Cu to form a degenerate semiconductor layer in the form of CuxTe, Cu-doped ZnTe, HgTe:CuTe-doped graphite paste or As2Te3:Cu5. The high processing temperatures during manufacturing of CdTe cells, however, result in the diffusion of Cu atoms into the adjacent layers, thus, deteriorating their electronic properties (Kranz et al., 2013).
A recent review of energy efficiency and renewable energy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region
Published in International Journal of Green Energy, 2021
The performance, environmental impact, and costs of 1 MWp plant working in the state of Kuwait were investigated by (Ali, Zeid, and AlFadhli 2017). It was estimated that polycrystalline technology needs about 19.33% more area as compared to mono-crystalline one. The thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) technology had lesser capital cost with minimum harmful emissions. TRNSYS analysis of a PV installation that had a payback period of 7.9–16.4 years was performed by (Alghamdi, Bahaj, and Wu 2017). A study on PV-PCM system with water circulation in Al Ain, UAE concluded that the heat losses reduced by up to 435 kWh/day (Hasan, Alnoman, and Shah 2016). The proposed system caused an improvement in electrical efficiency by about 6% and thermal performance by 41% as compared to the available global solar irradiation.
Effect of different device parameters on tin-based perovskite solar cell coupled with In2S3 electron transport layer and CuSCN and Spiro-OMeTAD alternative hole transport layers for high-efficiency performance
Published in Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 2020
Clean, green, and sustainable energy sources like solar cells are crucial to compensate for the ever-increasing energy demand because relying on nonrenewable sources of energy is not a feasible solution. Energy generation from the solar cells has been mostly considered among other renewable energy sources due to its low costs of distributed power generation, operation, and maintenance (Kharaji Manouchehrabadi and Yaghoubi 2020). The net solar generation is increasing at a rate of about 8.3% annually (Ashraf and Alam 2020). Highly expensive silicon-based solar cells have an efficiency of 12%-17.5% only, but they have been dominating the solar market for many years with 94% market share (Husainat et al. 2020). So, an extensive search for alternative solar materials has become a necessity. Thin-film technology has made drastic changes in the solar cell industry in the 2000s onwards by improving the efficiency of the solar cell up to 21% and making the solar cells lighter, thin, and durable (Bangari, Singh, and Sharma 2020). Dye-sensitized solar cells have induced intensive interests over the past decades due to their low cost and simple preparation processes (Lan et al. 2014). The uses of the new generation materials and devices such as dye-sensitized, thin-film cadmium telluride and thin-film copper indium gallium selenide-based solar cells have been on the rise to offset the silicon-based market, but some of them contain expensive and toxic elements (MaríSoucase, Pradas, and Adhikari 2016).