Solar Cell Nanotechnology

Atul Tiwari is a research faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hawaii. He received a PhD in polymer materials science and has been designated a Chartered Chemist and Chartered Scientist by the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK. As an organic chemist and mechanical engineer, Dr. Tiwari has sought in his research work to bridge the gap between science and engineering. His area of research interest includes the development of smart materials including silicones, graphene, and bio-inspired biomaterials for industrial applications. He has published more than 60 peer-reviewed research publications and has 6 patents or patents pending.Rabah Boukherroub received a PhD in chemistry from the University Paul Sabatier, France. He is a group leader at the Interdisciplinary Research Institute, University of Lille, France. He is a coauthor of more than 250 research publications and has written several book chapters in subjects related to nanotechnology, materials chemistry, biosensors, and lab-on-chip devices. He has 8 patents or patents pending. Dr. Boukherroub's research interests are in the area of functional materials, surface chemistry, and photophysics of semiconductor nanostructures.Maheshwar Sharon obtained his PhD from University of Leicester, UK, and two postgraduate diplomas in nuclear power and radio chemistry. In 1978, he joined the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, as a Professor in Chemistry, retiring in 2003. He is now a Research Director at the NSNR Centre for Nanotechnology & Bionanotechnology, Ambernath, India. He is a pioneer in developing plant-based precursors like camphor, kerosene, and various non-edible oils for synthesizing almost all forms of carbon: nanobeads, nanotubes, nanofibers, and various new types of carbon nanomaterials. He is the first to successfully develop a homojunction carbon (n-C/p-C) photovoltaic solar cell from camphoric carbon. He has also pioneered a solar-chargeable battery and a concept known as the Sharon-Schottky type solar cell. He has also pioneered the development of a photoactive lead oxide electrode for application in a photoelectrochemical cell. He has published more than 172 publications in national and international journals and has published 4 books.

• Preface xviiPart 1 Current Developments 11 Design Considerations for Efficient and Stable Polymer Solar Cells 3Prajwal Adhikary, Jing Li, and Qiquan Qiao1.1 Introduction 41.2 Role of Interfacial Layer for Efficient BHJ Solar Cells 111.3 Selection of Interfacial Layer for Stable and Longer Lifetime 201.4 Materials Used as Interfacial Layer 261.5 Conclusion and Outlook 34Acknowledgement 34References 352 Carbazole-Based Organic Dyes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Role of Carbazole as Donor, Auxiliary Donor and π-linker 41A. Venkateswararao and K. R. Justin Thomas2.1 Introduction 422.2 Carbazole as a Donor for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells 442.3 Carbazole as a π-Linker 642.4 Carbazole as Auxiliary Donor for DSSC 752.5 Carbazole as Donor as Well as Linker for DSSC 872.6 Conclusion and Outlook 91Acknowledgements 92References 923 Colloidal Synthesis of CuInS2 and CuInSe2 Nanocrystals for Photovoltaic Applications 97Joanna Kolny-Olesiak3.1 Introduction 973.2 Synthesis of CuInS2 and CuInSe2 Nanocrystals 993.3 Application of Colloidal CuInS2 and CuInSe2 Nanoparticles in Solar Energy Conversion 1093.4 Conclusion and Outlook 112References 1124 Two Dimensional Layered Semiconductors: Emerging Materials for Solar Photovoltaics 117Mariyappan Shanmugam and Bin Yu4.1 Introduction 1184.2 Material Synthesis 1194.3 Photovoltaic Device Fabrication 1224.4 Microstructural and Raman Spectroscopic Studies of MoS2 and WS2 1244.5 Photovoltaic Performance Evaluation 1264.6 Electronic Transport and Interfacial Recombination 1294.7 Conclusion and Outlook 132References 1335 Control of ZnO Nanorods for Polymer Solar Cells 135Hsin-Yi Chen, Ching-Fuh Lin5.1 Introduction 1365.2 Preparation and Characterization of ZnO NRs 1375.3 Application of ZnO NR in Polymer Solar Cells 1475.4 Conclusion and Outlook 154References 154Part 2 Noble Approaches 1596 Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells 161Lakshmi V. Munukutla, Aung Htun, Sailaja Radhakrishanan, Laura Main, and Arunachala M. Kannan6.1 Introduction 1616.2 Background 1636.3 DSSC Key Performance Parameters 1736.4 Device Improvements 1746.5 DSSC Performance with Different Electrolytes 1806.6 Conclusion and Outlook 183References 1837 Nanoimprint Lithography for Photovoltaic Applications 185Benjamin Schumm and Stefan Kaskel7.1 Introduction 1867.2 Soft Lithography 1867.3 NIL-Based Techniques for PV 1907.4 Conclusion and Outlook 198References 1998 Indoor Photovoltaics: Efficiencies, Measurements and Design 203Monika Freunek (Müller)8.1 Introduction 2038.2 Indoor Radiation 2058.3 Maximum Efficiencies 2088.4 Optimization Strategies 2138.5 Characterization and Measured Efficiencies 2168.6 Irradiance Measurements 2178.7 Characterization 2178.8 Conclusion and Outlook 219References 2219 Photon Management in Rare Earth Doped Nanomaterials for Solar Cells 223Jiajia Zhou, Jianrong Qiu9.1 Introduction 2239.2 Basic Aspects of Solar Cell 2249.4 Down-Conversion Nanomaterials for Solar Cell Application 2329.5 Conclusion and Outlook 236References 238Part 3 Developments in Prospective 24110 Advances in Plasmonic Light Trapping in Thin-Film Solar Photovoltaic Devices 243J. Gwamuri, D. Ö. Güney, and J. M. Pearce10.1 Introduction 24410.2 Theoretical Approaches to Plasmonic Light Trapping Mechanisms in Thin-fi lm PV 24710.3 Plasmonics for Improved Photovoltaic Cells Optical Properties 25610.4 Fabrication Techniques and Economics 26010.5 Conclusion and Outlook 263Acknowledgements 266References 26611 Recent Research and Development of Luminescent Solar Concentrators 271Yun Seng Lim, Shin Yiing Kee, and Chin Kim Lo11.1 Introduction 27211.2 Mechanisms of Power Losses in Luminescent Solar Concentrator 27411.3 Modeling 27611.4 Polymer Materials 27911.5 Luminescent Materials for Luminescent Solar Concentrator 28011.6 New Designs of Luminescent Solar Concentrator 28611.7 Conclusion and Outlook 287References 28912 Luminescent Solar Concentrators – State of the Art and Future Perspectives 293M. Tonezzer, D. Gutierrez, and D. Vincenzi12.1 Introduction to the Third Generation of Photovoltaic Systems 29412.2 Luminescence Solar Concentrators (LSCs) 29412.3 Components of LSC Devices 29912.4 Pathways for Improving LSC Efficiency 30812.5 Conclusion and Outlook 311Acknowledgments 312References 31213 Organic Fluorophores for Luminescent Solar Concentrators 317Luca Beverina and Alessandro Sanguineti13.1 Introduction 31813.2 LSCs: Device Operation and Main Features 32113.3 Luminophores in LSCs 32413.4 Conclusion and Outlook 349References 35114 PAn-Graphene-Nanoribbon Composite Materials for Organic Photovoltaics: A DFT Study of Their Electronic and Charge Transport Properties 357Javed Mazher, Asefa A. Desta, and Shabina Khan14.1 Introduction 35814.2 Review of Computational Background 37914.3 Atomistic Computational Simulations: Modeling and Methodology 38514.4 Results and Discussions 38914.5 Conclusion and Outlook 398References 40015 Analytical Modeling of Thin-Film Solar Cells – Fundamentals and Applications 409Kurt Taretto15.1 Introduction 40915.2 Basics 41015.3 Fundamental Semiconductor Equations 41715.4 Analytical Models for Selected Solar Cells 42515.5 The Importance of the Temperature Dependence of VOC 44215.6 Conclusions and Outlook 444Acknowledgements 444References 44416 Efficient Organic Photovoltaic Cells: Current Global Scenario 447Sandeep Rai and Atul Tiwari16.1 Introduction 44816.2 Current Developments in OPVs 45516.3 Economics of Solar Energy 46416.4 Conclusions and Future Trends in Photovoltaic 468References 47117 Real and Reactive Power Control of Voltage Source Converter-Based Photovoltaic Generating Systems 475S. Mishra and P. C. Sekhar17.1 Introduction 47617.2 State of Art 47817.3 Proposed Solution 47917.4 Modeling of the PV Generator 48017.5 Control of the PV Generator 48317.6 Validation of the Proposed Control Architecture 49117.7 Conclusion and Outlook 501References 502Index 505