Highly efficient 2D transition metal Dichalcogenides/SnSe solar cells using Sb2S3 as a back surface field and interfacial layer engineering

• Published in: Inorganic chemistry communications 2024-12, Vol.170, p.113261, Article 113261
• Main Authors: Younsi, Ziyad, Bencherif, Hichem, Meddour, Faycal, Ben Moussa, Sana, Yahya Abdullah Alzahrani, Abdullah, Guganathan, L., Kashif, Muhammad, Alathlawi, Hussain J., Hajri, Amira K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 2D materials; Interface engineering; Sb2S3 BSF; Solar cells
• ISSN: 1387-7003
• DOI: 10.1016/j.inoche.2024.113261

[Display omitted] •The study explores the integration of alternative 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) to enhance flexible solar cell.•The introduction of Sb2S3 as a back surface field (BSF) further enhanced efficiency by reducing carrier recombination losses.•Several materials and metals are investigated as interfacial layers and back contacts.•Solar cells incorporating MoS2 and SnS2, emerged as the highest performer with an efficiency of 13.58%.•The study models solar cell with a one-diode approach, finding that Module 2 offers the highest efficiency. Boosting the performance of solar cells is crucial for advancing photovoltaic technology. This study investigates the integration of alternative 2D materials to enhance the performance of solar cells. Three solar cell configurations sample 1 with CdS, sample 2 with MoS2, and sample 3 with SnS2 are systematically investigated via numerical simulation. The simulation framework is validated against experimental data, demonstrating good agreement. Alternative 2D materials are explored to replace toxic CdS and improve the Voc through suitable band alignment with the absorber material, SnSe. Additionally, Sb2S3 is introduced as a back surface field (BSF) for the first time, resulting in increased efficiencies across all three samples. Further performance enhancements involve the insertion of 2D interfacial layers between the electron transport layer (ETL) and absorber to mitigate interface defects. Thirteen materials are evaluated as interfacial layers and nine metals as back contacts, revealing Ni as the optimal back contact for all samples, while MoS2, SnS2, and WS2 are identified as suitable interfacial layers for samples 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Analysis of the solar cells reveals that sample 2, incorporating MoS2 and SnS2, achieves the highest efficiency at 13.58 %. This outperforms sample 3 at 13.55 % and sample 1 at 13.13 %. Sample 2′s superior performance is attributed to the effective utilization of 2D transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) materials, which enhance charge carrier transport and minimize recombination losses within the cell structure. Optimized solar cell configurations are modeled using a one-diode approach to build corresponding modules. These modules, created by connecting solar cells in series and parallel, are evaluated through simulated I-V characteristics and power output under standard test conditions. Analysis reveals that Module 2 exhibits superior performance, with h