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Sb2S3is a promising absorber material for indoor photovoltaics due to the appropriate direct bandgap of 1.75 eV, high element abundance, low toxicity, stability, and single phase. Considering the indoor lighting irradiance is very low and the resulting carrier numbers are relatively less and Sb2S3is quasi-one-dimensional crystal structure, the preferential orientation controlling of Sb2S3is very important to improve the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of Sb2S3indoor photovoltaics. Herein, Sb2S3and low Se content Sb2SeyS3-yfilms are prepared by chemical bath deposition and the preferential orientation of Sb2S3films is controlled by introducing SbCl3and selenourea in the growth solution. The uniformity of the S and Se distribution in low Se content Sb2SeyS3-yfilms is adjusted by introducing EDTA-2Na. Using the warm white LED with a color temperature of 3347 K and illuminance of 1000 lux, Sb2S3and low Se content Sb2SeyS3-yindoor photovoltaics achieve the PCE of 16.58% for Sb2S3and 17.62% for Sb2SeyS3-y, which is the highest PCE for antimony chalcogenide indoor photovoltaics. Therefore, the preferential orientation controlling by introducing SbCl3and selenourea into the growth solution is an efficient strategy for fabricating high-efficiency Sb2S3and low Se content Sb2SeyS3-yindoor photovoltaics.

In this paper, AgBiS2was prepared on a TiO2nanorod array via sequential spin-coating 5 mM AgNO3in DMF, 5 mM Bi(NO3)3in DMF and 10 mM Na2S in methanol/water (v/v, 95/5) by successive ionic layer absorption and reaction (SILAR) at room temperature. The effect of SILAR cycle times, C11H23COOH surface modification, and spiro-OMeTAD:P3HT application on the photovoltaic performance of the AgBiS2sensitized solar cell was systematically investigated. The optimal SILAR cycle time for preparing the AgBiS2sensitized TiO2nanorod array was 20. The AgBiS2sensitized solar cell exhibited a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.56% with a 20 cycle time, 0.70% with C11H23COOH surface modification and 0.91% with spiro-OMeTAD:P3HT.AgBiS2sensitized TiO2nanorod array was successfully prepared using spin-coating assisted SILAR with AgNO3in DMF, Bi(NO3)3in DMF and Na2S in methanol/water at room temperature. The effect of SILAR cycle time, C11H23COOH and spiro-OMeTAD:P3HT application on the photovoltaic performance of the AgBiS2sensitized solar cell was systematically investigated and the corresponding solar cell achieved the PCE of 0.91%.

• AgSbS 2 thin film by pyrolysis preparation of Ag-Sb-butyldithiocarbamate complex. • The compact and full-coverage AgSbS 2 thin film is firstly reported. • The individual AgSbS 2 nanoparticles can melt together at 350 ℃. • The PCE of 2.09% is the highest value for AgSbS 2 solar cells. The preparation of the compact and full-coverage AgSbS 2 thin films is firstly reported using the pyrolysis of the Ag-butyldithiocarbamate and Sb-butyldithiocarbamate complex solution in DMF. The influence of the preparation temperature on the crystal phase, optical absorption, morphology of the AgSbS 2 thin films is systematically investigated. The AgSbS 2 thin films at 150 °C for 30 min are composed of the individual nanoparticles with the particle sizes of 30–60 nm. When the AgSbS 2 thin films are further heated at 350 °C for 2 min, the individual AgSbS 2 nanoparticles are melted together and the grain boundary between the AgSbS 2 nanoparticles disappear. The solar cells with the architecture of FTO/compact TiO 2 /AgSbS 2 / spiro -OMeTAD/Au achieve the photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.09%, along with the open-circuit voltage of 0.44 V, the short-circuit photocurrent density of 10.49 mA cm−2, the fill factor of 0.45. The PCE of 2.09% is the highest value for the AgSbS 2 solar cells. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, the precise fabrication of Sb2S3and low Se content Sb2SeyS3–yindoor photovoltaics is reported, and a measurement protocol for photovoltaic performance is suggested and applied. Insertion of the SnO2buried layer decreases the thickness and parasitic absorption of the CdS layer. The introduction of minor Se into Sb2S3and the use of spiro-OMeTAD:TMT-TTF improve the charge transport of indoor photovoltaics. Using a white light-emitting diode (LED) under illuminance of 1000, 500, and 200 lx with color temperatures of 3347 and 6103 K, indoor photovoltaics with fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO)/SnO2(17 nm)/CdS (20 nm)/Sb2S3/spiro-OMeTAD:TMT-TTF/Au exhibit power conversion efficiency (PCE) values of 17.59, 16.66, 16.44, 16.56, 15.50, and 14.07%, respectively. Indoor photovoltaics with FTO/SnO2(17 nm)/CdS (20 nm)/Sb2SeyS3–y(Sb/S/Se = 1:1.42:0.06)/spiro-OMeTAD:TMT-TTF/Au achieve PCE values of 18.53, 17.62, 17.07, 17.30, 16.24, and 15.38%, respectively. The PCE values of 17.59, 16.66, and 16.44% are the highest values reported for Sb2S3indoor photovoltaics, and the other PCEs are all reported for the first time. Considering the trillion-dollar-sized market from the Internet of Things (IoT), this work can further bring an unprecedented thrust to the development of self-powered IoT devices by harvesting energy from indoor photovoltaics, thereby realizing the recycling of photon energy and reducing the use of batteries and the emission of CO2.

To ensure the infiltration of spiro-OMeTAD into the quantum dot-sensitized photoanode and to consider the limit of the hole diffusion length in the spiro-OMeTAD layer, a rutile TiO2nanorod array with a length of 200 nm, a diameter of 20 nm and an areal density of 720 µm−2was successfully prepared using a hydrothermal method with an aqueous-grown solution of 38 mM titanium isopropoxide and 6 M hydrochloric acid at 170 °C for 75 min. PbS quantum dots were deposited by a spin coating-assisted successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (spin-SILAR), and all solid-state PbS quantum dot-sensitized TiO2nanorod array solar cells were fabricated using spiro-OMeTAD as electrolytes. The results revealed that the average crystal size of PbS quantum dots was ∼7.8 nm using Pb(NO3)2as the lead source and remain unchanged with the increase of the number of spin-SILAR cycles. The all solid-state PbS quantum dot-sensitized TiO2nanorod array solar cells with spin-SILAR cycle numbers of 20, 30 and 40 achieved the photoelectric conversion efficiencies of 3.74%, 4.12% and 3.11%, respectively, under AM 1.5 G illumination (100 mW/cm2).

In this work, Sb2S3-ySeythin films are prepared using the hydrothermal growth solution of antimony potassium tartrate, Na2S2O3, and selenourea, and the solar cells with the architecture of FTO/CdS/Sb2S3-ySey/spiro-OMeTAD/Au are fabricated. The influence of the CdS/FTO substrate position on top and bottom and the growth solution volumes of 40 mL and 20 mL on the properties of Sb2S3-ySeythin films and the photovoltaic performance of the corresponding solar cells is systematically investigated. The results reveal that the CdS/FTO substrate position and the growth solution volume strongly influence the thickness, homogeneous extent of the Se distribution, and oriented growth along the (221) crystal plane for Sb2S3-ySeythin films. Due to the thickness increase, the hydrothermal growth of Sb2S3-ySeythin films is dominated by Nanoparticle Formation-Adsorption Pathway. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of Sb2S3-ySeysolar cells is 8.14% for top and 40 mL, 8.23% for bottom and 40 mL, and 8.47% for bottom and 20 mL. When poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and tetrakis(methylthio)tetrathiafulvalene (TMT-TTF) are introduced into spiro-OMeTAD, the PCE of Sb2S3-ySeysolar cells can increase to 8.83% with spiro-OMeTAD:P3HT and 9.02% with spiro-OMeTAD:TMT-TTF.

To explore the feasibility of the flexible Sb2S3−ySeythin‐film solar cell fabrication using polyimide thin films as substrates, CdS thin films are prepared on SnO2:F conducting glass (FTO) substrates by decreasing the ammonia concentration of chemical bath deposition, and Sb2S3−ySeythin films are grown on the FTO/CdS substrate by changing the selenourea concentration of hydrothermal process. The influence of the ammonia and selenourea concentration on properties of CdS and Sb2S3−ySeyis systematically investigated and solar cells with the architecture of FTO/CdS/Sb2S3−ySey/spiro‐OMeTAD/Au are fabricated. For CdS thin films on FTO substrate, the thickness decreases and roughness increases with the decrease of ammonia concentration in chemical bath deposition. The compact and full‐coverage CdS thin films with thickness of 50 ± 6 nm are successfully obtained using the low ammonia concentration (0.59 m). For Sb2S3−ySeythin films on FTO/CdS substrate, the Se:S:Sb atomic ratio and thickness increases with the increase of selenourea concentration in hydrothermal process. The optimal selenourea concentration is 6 mM. The solar cells with the 50 ± 6 nm thick CdS thin film and Sb2S2.10Se0.56thin film achieve photoelectric conversion efficiency of 8.07%. The results can provide an efficient support for further applying polyimide thin films to fabricate flexible Sb2S3−ySeythin film solar cells. The compact and full‐coverage CdS thin films with the thickness of 50 nm are successfully prepared by chemical bath deposition using the low ammonia concentration (0.59 m) and Sb2S3−ySeythin films are grown using hydrothermal method by changing the selenourea concentration. The solar cells based on the Sb2S2.10Se0.56thin film and the 50 nm‐thick CdS thin film achieve the photoelectric conversion efficiency of 8.07%.

Herein, Sb2S3‐sensitized TiO2nanorod arrays are prepared by the pyrolysis of 1.2 mantimony–thiourea complex solution in dimethylformamide (DMF) at 270 °C for 10 min. Various surface modifiers with different functional groups and carbon numbers of C10H21PO3H2, C12H25SO3Na, C3H7COOH, C5H11COOH, C7H15COOH, C11H23COOH, C13H27COOH, C15H31COOH, and C17H35COOH are applied to modify Sb2S3‐sensitized TiO2nanorod arrays. The corresponding solar cells are fabricated, and their photovoltaic performances are evaluated. To the different functional group surface modifiers, the improvement of functional group on photovoltaic performance is of the order of COOH > PO3H2> SO3Na. To the different carbon number (4–18) surface modifiers, RCOOH with carbon number range of 8–12 exhibits better photovoltaic performance. Moreover, the Sb2S3‐sensitized TiO2nanorod array solar cells with C11H23COOH achieve the best photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.37% with the open‐circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.53 V, short‐circuit current density (Jsc) of 16.98 mA cm−2, fill factor (FF) of 60.66%, and the average PCE of 5.11 ± 0.21% with the Vocof 0.52 ± 0.01 V, Jscof 16.65 ± 0.24 mA cm−2, and FF of 58.93 ± 1.21%. The PCE of 5.37% corresponding to the use of spiro‐OMeTAD as the hole‐transporting material is a relatively high PCE for Sb2S3solar cells. Surface modifiers with different functional groups and carbon numbers, including C10H21PO3H2, C12H25SO3Na, C3H7COOH, C5H11COOH, C7H15COOH, C11H23COOH, C13H27COOH, C15H31COOH, and C17H35COOH, are applied to modify Sb2S3‐sensitized TiO2nanorod arrays. These surface modifiers can penetrate into the pinholes, further absorb on the bare TiO2surface, and prevent direct contact between TiO2and spiro‐OMeTAD.