Advances in Nanomaterials and Coatings for Solar Cells

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Surface Engineering for Energy Harvesting, Conversion, and Storage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2025) | Viewed by 1924

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Scientific and Didactic Laboratory of Nanotechnology and Material Technologies, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Interests: materials engineering; surface engineering; nanomaterials; thin films; solar cells
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Interests: materials engineering; nanomaterials; polymers; solar cells
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation, Technical University of Liberec, Studentská 1402/2, 461 17 Liberec, Czech Republic
Interests: nanotechnology; nanoparticles synthesis; quantum dots synthesis; sol gel technology; solar cells

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Research on solar cells is developing towards increasing their efficiency and reducing production costs. Progress is possible by improving the connectors, contacts and geometric features of cells, methods of treating their surfaces and the use of new engineering materials with unique properties. The subject of the conducted research focuses on determining the impact of nanomaterials (including nanolayers, nanoparticles and nanowires) on the photovoltaic properties of solar cells. One of the directions of research is the deposition of passivating and antirelfecting nanolayers using vacuum and sol–gel methods on silicon solar cells. Another direction of research is the use of quantum dots as phosphors to increase the efficiency of solar cells. A developing direction of research is the use of transparent conductive layers (TCLs) in silicon, dye-sensitized and polymer solar cells as transparent electrical contacts or layers supporting metallic contacts. Another developing direction of research is the use of nanoparticles, nanowires and their combinations in the photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cells. This Special Issue will serve as a forum for papers covering the following concepts:

  • Theoretical and experimental research, knowledge and new ideas in the synthesis of nanomaterials with special optical and electrical properties;
  • Recent developments in multi-functional inorganic thin films;
  • Thin films produced by different processes, including chemical vapour deposition (CVD), physical vapour deposition (PVD), atomic layer deposition method (ALD) and the sol–gel method;
  • The used of thin films, nanoparticles and nanowires in silicon, dye sensitized and polymer solar cells.

Dr. Marek Szindler
Dr. Magdalena M. Szindler
Dr. Mateusz Fijalkowski
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • photovoltaics
  • solar cells
  • nanomaterials
  • nanoparticles
  • nanowires
  • thin films
  • chemical synthesis
  • vacuum layer deposition methods
  • sol–gel method

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 3585 KiB  
Article
Effects of ALD Deposition Cycles of Al2O3 on the Morphology and Performance of FTO-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
by Elizabeth Adzo Addae, Wojciech Sitek, Marek Szindler, Mateusz Fijalkowski and Krzysztof Matus
Coatings 2024, 14(8), 1019; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings14081019 - 11 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1547
Abstract
In dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), materials classified as Transparent Conducting Oxides (TCOs) have the capacity to conduct electricity and transmit light at the same time. Their exceptional blend of optical transparency and electrical conductivity makes them popular choices for transparent electrodes in DSSCs. [...] Read more.
In dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), materials classified as Transparent Conducting Oxides (TCOs) have the capacity to conduct electricity and transmit light at the same time. Their exceptional blend of optical transparency and electrical conductivity makes them popular choices for transparent electrodes in DSSCs. Fluorine Tin Oxide (FTO) was utilized in this experiment. The optical and electrical characteristics of TCOs may be negatively impacted by their frequent exposure to hostile environments and potential for deterioration. TCOs are coated with passivating layers to increase their performance, stability, and defense against environmental elements including oxygen, moisture, and chemical pollutants. Because of its superior dielectric qualities, strong chemical stability, and suitability with TCO materials, aluminum oxide (Al2O3) was utilized as a passivating layer for the FTO. In this research work, Al2O3 was deposited via atomic layer deposition (ALD) to form thin mesoporous layers as a passivator in the photoanode (working electrode). The work focuses on finding an appropriate thickness of Al2O3 for optimum performance of the dye-sensitized solar cells. The solar simulation and sheet resistance analysis clearly showed 200 cycles of Al2O3 to exhibit an efficiency of 4.31%, which was the most efficient performance. The surface morphology and topography of all samples were discussed and analyzed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanomaterials and Coatings for Solar Cells)
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