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Thin Films for Energy Applications
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Thin Films for Energy Applications

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 July 2022) | Viewed by 8063

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Simone Meroni

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
SPECIFIC, College of Engineering, Bay Campus, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK
Interests: Thin films; up-scaling; printing; module; solar cells

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to invite you to submit an article among your best for a special issue in Energies. It will be called “Thin Films for Energy Applications” and aims to collect your results on thin film materials with the purpose to create devices for energy applications.

Solar cells, batteries, super capacitors, thermoelectric, LEDs and any device that can generate, store or release energy can be prepared via a suitable deposition of thin film materials.

The electric and optic properties of these layers as well as the interface between them can play a crucial role for the fabrication of good working devices. Also, the chemistry of the layers is crucial to achieve enhanced contact between the films or to improve the electrical and optic properties of the bulk. The deposition of the layer is an important engineering issue, especially when a homogeneous deposition over large area is the aim of the study. This issue welcomes any paper that focuses on chemical, physical and engineering studies for thin film devices. Device fabrication and up-scaling demonstrations are encouraged but they are not essential.

This special issue aims to give the opportunity to share and discuss results for well-known materials, such as halide perovskites, or new emerging materials.

I look forward to receiving your manuscripts.

Thank you for your consideration,

Dr. Simone Meroni
Guest Editor

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. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

  • Thin Films
  • Energy applications
  • Film deposition and characterization
  • Device fabrication and characterization
  • Up-scaling

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3702 KiB  
Article
Development of a Self-Sufficient LoRaWAN Sensor Node with Flexible and Glass Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Modules Harvesting Energy from Diffuse Low-Intensity Solar Radiation
by Mara Bruzzi, Irene Cappelli, Ada Fort, Alessandro Pozzebon and Valerio Vignoli
Energies 2022, 15(5), 1635; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15051635 - 22 Feb 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2380
Abstract
This paper aims to demonstrate the viability of energy harvesting for wide area wireless sensing systems based on dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) under diffuse sunlight conditions, proving the feasibility of deploying autonomous sensor nodes even under unfavorable outdoor scenarios, such as during cloudy [...] Read more.
This paper aims to demonstrate the viability of energy harvesting for wide area wireless sensing systems based on dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) under diffuse sunlight conditions, proving the feasibility of deploying autonomous sensor nodes even under unfavorable outdoor scenarios, such as during cloudy days, in the proximity of tall buildings, among the trees in a forest and during winter days in general. A flexible thin-film module and a glass thin-film module, both featuring an area smaller than an A4 sheet of paper, were initially characterized in diffuse solar light. Afterward, the protype sensor nodes were tested in a laboratory in two different working conditions, emulating outdoor sunlight in unfavorable lighting and weather to reconstruct a worst-case scenario. A Li-Po battery was employed as a power reserve for a long-range wide area network (LoRaWAN)-based sensor node that transmitted data every 8 h and every hour. To this end, an RFM95x LoRa module was used, while the node energy management was attained by exploiting a nano-power boost charger buck converter integrated circuit conceived for the nano-power harvesting from the light source and the managing of the battery charge and protection. A positive charge balance was demonstrated by monitoring the battery trend along two series of 6 and 9 days, thus allowing us to affirm that the system’s permanent energy self-sufficiency was guaranteed even in the worst-case lighting and weather scenario. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin Films for Energy Applications)
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15 pages, 1969 KiB  
Article
Strategies towards Cost Reduction in the Manufacture of Printable Perovskite Solar Modules
by Dena Pourjafari, Simone M. P. Meroni, Diecenia Peralta Domínguez, Renán Escalante, Jenny Baker, Alessary Saadi Monroy, Adrian Walters, Trystan Watson and Gerko Oskam
Energies 2022, 15(2), 641; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15020641 - 17 Jan 2022
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4728
Abstract
Among different perovskite solar cell architectures, the carbon-based perovskite solar cell (C-PSC) is a promising candidate for upscaling and commercialization related to low-cost components and simple manufacturing methods. For upscaling a PV technology, three parameters must be considered, corresponding to efficiency, stability, and [...] Read more.
Among different perovskite solar cell architectures, the carbon-based perovskite solar cell (C-PSC) is a promising candidate for upscaling and commercialization related to low-cost components and simple manufacturing methods. For upscaling a PV technology, three parameters must be considered, corresponding to efficiency, stability, and cost. While the efficiency and lifetime of perovskite technology are the focus of many research groups, the cost parameter is less studied. This work aims to provide information on the manufacturing cost of C-PSC based on experimental data in order to give the readers a panoramic overview of parameters influencing a fabrication process. To analyze the commercialization viability of this technology, we estimated the cost of raw materials and the manufacturing process for sub-modules using two different methods: registration and scribing. The fabrication cost of a sub-module fabricated using the scribing method with 7.9% efficiency was approximately 44% less than that of a device with 6.8% efficiency prepared using registration. We demonstrated that this is due to both the design parameters and performance. In addition, we showed a 51% cost reduction for registration devices by appropriate choice of solar cell components, fabrication steps, and equipment based on the existing infrastructures for the manufacturing of large-scale devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin Films for Energy Applications)
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