Ferri-hydrite: A Novel Electron-Selective Contact Layer for InP Photovoltaic and Photoelectrochemical Cells

Date

2023

Authors

Gupta, Bikesh
Zhang, Doudou
Chen, Hongjun
Jagadish, Chennupati
Tan, Hoe
Karuturi, Siva

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

American Chemical Society

Abstract

Solar energy conversion devices with charge-selective contacts are attracting significant research interest as a cost-effective alternative to homojunction counterparts. This study presents a novel approach for fabricating high-performance solar cells based on InP heterojunctions using a solution-processed ferri-hydrite (Fh) electron-selective contact (ESC). The champion cell efficiency of 16.6% is achieved, which is a significant improvement over those from previous studies using other solution-processed ESC materials. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements showed that the low conduction band offset at the Fh–InP interface facilitated selective transport of photogenerated electrons from InP. Moreover, the Fh electron-selective contact layer provided an excellent photoelectrochemical half-cell water reduction efficiency of 8.4%. The Fh layer not only selectively extracts photogenerated electrons from InP but also simultaneously serves as a surface protection layer, improving the cell’s long-term stability. These results demonstrate the potential of Fh as a low-cost and easily fabricated material for use in high-efficiency photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical devices. Our findings pave the way for further improvements in the efficiency of InP heterojunction solar cells by addressing the losses incurred in the cells.

Description

Keywords

InP,, solar cells,, ferri-hydrite, solution processing, photocathode, H2 plasma

Citation

Source

ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces

Type

Journal article

Book Title

Entity type

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Restricted until

2099-12-31