A COATING FOR ALL
Fully sprayed polymer solar cell modules open the way to bring Photovoltaics nominally everywhere, thanks to spray coating conformability to virtually any kind of substrate.
If we also add semitransparency, then the range of possible applications gets even broader, from Building-Integrated Photovoltaics to automotive or consumer electronics.
We have set up an automated spray process, completely performed in air, for the fabrication of the first fully spray-coated modules on glass substrates. We have obtained conversion efficiency close to 1% and now the transfer on plastic substrate is in progress, together with the improvement of the efficiency on large area.
Full story available on Energy Technology, in press paper.
Supporting Information: Full Spray and flexible PSC Modules on Action!
PEROVSKITE SOLAR CELLS ON PAPER AND THE ROLE OF SUBSTRATES AND ELECTRODES ON PERFORMANCE
ABSTRACT
The first perovskite solar cell (PSC) fabricated directly on a paper substrate with a maximum power conversion efficiency of 2.7% is here reported. The paper PSCs (PPSC) were developed with a low-temperature Paper/Au/SnO2/meso-TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3/Spiro-OMeTAD/MoOx/Au/MoOx architecture utilizing a Au/SnO2 and MoOx/Au/MoOx stack as electron- and hole- extracting electrodes respectively. The transparent MoOx/Au/MoOx electrode had a favourable combination of transmittance (62.5%) and sheet resistance (9 Ω/□). By comparing performance of cells on paper with those fabricated on glass and plastic films with different electrodes, we identify avenues that can help guide future research for improved performance. All the deposition processes used are scalable and compatible with large area printing or evaporation technologies. Paper represents a lightweight, flexible, inexpensive, ubiquitous, and environmentally friendly material, paving the way for integrating perovskite technology with other electronic components as well as for the development of stand-alone PV devices on recyclable and low-cost paper substrates.
Sergio Alexis Castro Hermosa, Janardan Dagar, Andrea Marsella, Thomas M. Brown
IEEE Electron Device Letters
August 2017
DOI: 10.1109/LED.2017.2735178
THE PHOTOVOLTAIC GREENHOUSE
We have demonstrated the feasibility of the fabrication of a photovoltaic greenhouse roof by using techniques based on solution processing (spray coating and screen printing). The panel ensures the suitable transmittance for plants and is composed of modules connected in series and parallel.
The work was funded by ECOFLECS Project (partners: Aero Sekur SpA, Uni Roma Tor Vergata, UniTuscia, CNR-IBAF).
SOLID STATE DYE SOLAR CELL MODULES
We fabricated the first solid state dye solar cell (SDSC) module using poly(3-hexilthiophene) (P3HT) as Hole Transport Material for the dye regeneration process. Integrated interconnections were obtained following the "Monolithic" architecture for series connections. The fabricated SDSC module has a conversion efficiency of 2.0% on active area. These results represent a promising starting point for an effective up-scaling of SDSC devices.
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Journal of Power Sources Volume 246, 15 January 2014, Pages 361–364.
Università degli Studi di Roma
"Tor Vergata"
