Abstract
We demonstrated that silicon quantum dots (SiQDs) with bright photoluminescence (PL) were produced by an electrochemical etching process. The PL intensity of functionalized porous silicon (PSi) with respect to time was investigated. Stable surface-modified SiQD dispersions were obtained using thermally induced hydrosilylation with octadecene. Various concentrations of SiQDs were spin-coated on Si solar cells (SiSCs) and perovskite solar cells (PSCs) to improve the performance of the solar cells. The external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the optimal sample showed that the current density increased from 37.4 to 39.2 mA/cm2. The EQE increased to 98% compared with the initial value of 95% in the visible spectrum region. The experimental results showed that the reflectivity of the solar cells could be reduced by applying a certain amount of SiQDs on different solar cells. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of SiSCs increased by 0.81%, and the PCE of PSCs increased by 0.61% after coating with SiQDs. Furthermore, when exposed to intense radiation in a UV aging chamber, both SiSCs and PSCs experienced reduced PCE loss by 0.11% and 0.62%, respectively, owing to the application of SiQDs on their surface.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
D. Timmerman, I. Izeddin, P. Stallinga, I.N. Yassievich, T. Gregorkiewicz, Nat. Photonics 2, 105–109 (2008)
S. Park, E. Cho, D.Y. Song, G. Conibeer, M.A. Green, Sol. Energy Mat. Sol. Cells 93, 684–690 (2009)
V.I. Klimov, J. Phys. Chem. B 110, 16827–16845 (2006)
D. Di, I. Perez-Wurfl, A. Gentle, D.H. Kim, X. Hao, L. Shi, G. Conibeer, M.A. Green, Nanoscale Res. Lett. 5, 1762–1767 (2010)
E.C. Cho, S. Park, X.J. Hao, D.Y. Song, G. Conibeer, S.C. Park, M.A. Green, Nanotechnology 19, 245201 (2008)
X.D. Pi, Q. Li, D.S. Li, D.R. Yang, Sol. Energy Mat. Sol. Cells 95, 2941–2945 (2011)
S.H. Lee, G.Y. Kwak, S.W. Hong, C.H. Kim, S. Kim, A. Kim, K.J. Kim, Nanotechnology 28, 035402 (2017)
D.C. Nguyen, Y. Ishikawa, S. Jonai, K. Nakamura, A. Masuda, Y. Uraoka, Sol. Energy 199, 56–62 (2020)
M.A. Islam, T. Oshima, D. Kobayashi, H. Matsuzaki, H. Nakahama, Y. Ishikawa, Jpn J. Appl. Phys. 57, 08RG14 (2018)
A. Poskela, K. Miettunen, A. Tiihonen, P.D. Lund, Energy Sci. Eng. 9, 19–26 (2020)
Q. Masaadeh, E. Kaplani, Y.M. Chao, Electronics 11, 2433 (2022)
A.H. Sabeeh, A.N. Brigeman, J. Ruzyllo, IEEE J. Photovoltaics 9, 1006–1011 (2019)
G. Peng, X.Y. Yu, Y.L. He, G.Y. Li, Y.X. Liu, X.F. Zhang, X.A. Zhang, Front. Phys. 13, 137802 (2018)
O. Wolf, M. Dasog, Z. Yang, I. Balberg, J.G.C. Veinot, O. Millo, Nano Lett. 13, 2516–2521 (2013)
V. Svrcek, A. Slaoui, J.C. Muller, Thin Solid Films 451, 384–388 (2004)
L.T. Canham, Appl. Phys. Lett. 57, 1046–1048 (1990)
X.G. Li, Y.Q. He, S.S. Talukdar, M.T. Swihart, Langmuir 19, 8490–8496 (2003)
J. Nelles, D. Sendor, A. Ebbers, F.M. Petrat, H. Wiggers, C. Schulz, U. Simon, Colloid Polym. Sci. 285, 729–736 (2007)
M.H. Mobarok, T.K. Purkait, M.A. Islam, M. Miskolzie, J.G.C. Veinot, Angew Chem. Int. Ed. 56, 6073–6077 (2017)
Z.Y. Yang, M.H. Wahl, J.G.C. Veinot, Can. J. Chem. 92, 951–957 (2014)
Q.S. Li, R.Q. Zhang, S.T. Lee, T.A. Niehaus, T. Frauenheim, J. Chem. Phys. 128, 244714 (2008)
X.G. Li, Y.Q. He, M.T. Swihart, Langmuir 20, 4720–4727 (2004)
J.P. Proot, C. delerue, G. Allan, Appl. Phys. Lett. 61, 1948–1950 (1992)
M.V. Wolkin, J. Jorne, P.M. Fauchet, G. Allan, C. Delerue, Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 197–200 (1999)
H. Koyama, M. Araki, Y. Yamamoto, N. Koshida, Jpn J. Appl. Phys. 30, 3606–3609 (1991)
Z. Sassi, J.C. Bureau, A. Bakkali, Vib. Spectrosc. 28, 299 (2002)
D.V. Tsu, G. Lucovsky, B.N. Davidson, Phys. Rev. B 40, ,1795 (1989)
X. Zhang, D. Neiner, S. Wang, A.Y. Louie, S.M. Kauzlarich, Nanotechnology 18, 095601 (2007)
J. Nelles, D. Sendor, M. Bertmer, A. Ebbers, F.M. Petrat, U. Simon, J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol 7, 2818 (2007)
Acknowledgements
Authors thank Dr. Peng You for supplying PSC samples and Dr. Zeguo Tang for solar cell characterizations. This work was supported by Research Program of Shen Zhen Technology University (No.20213108010017).
Funding
This work was supported by Research Program of SZTU(No.20213108010017).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Ren Chen. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Ren Chen and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Chen, R., Hu, Y., Li, X. et al. Silicon quantum dots prepared by electrochemical etching and their application in solar cells. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 1105 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-10513-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-10513-8