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• DMSO and MOE were proposed for the first time to improve the surface morphology of the films. • The optimum mixing ratio is V MOE = V DMSO = 2 mL, and the solution to the precursor film is completed in the air environment. • The efficiency of the fabricated CZTSSe solar cell is 10.99% with V oc of 510.6 mV, J sc of 33.19 mA/cm2, and FF of 64.83 %. A mixed dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and 2-methoxy ethanol (MOE) solvent system was developed to prepare high-quality kesterite Cu 2 ZnSn(S, Se) 4 (CZTSSe) film. The precursor films made pure DMSO system show a tube-like microstructure morphology, which can be changed by adding MOE to the solution. The increase of MOE in the precursor solution is a key in the crystalline characteristic of the absorber and connecting performance with thin film solar cells. As V MOE = V DMSO , the CZTSSe layer can achieve good contact with the back electrode and obtain large grains across layers. The addition of MOE solvent effectively improves the fill factor (FF). Specifically, both the fill factor and efficiency are increased from 49.67% and 6.43% to 64.83% and 10.99%, respectively, with the addition of 2 mL of MOE into precursor solution prepared by DMSO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The post-heating treatment (PHT) precursor films were adopted to modify the morphology significantly. • The research results indicate that proper PH treatment can modify the surface morphology of precursor films, which is crucial for preparing high-quality absorber layers, the optimum PH temperature was 60 °C. • The best efficiency of the fabricated CZTSSe solar cell is 11.07%, with V oc of 504.6 mV, J sc of 37.69 mA/cm2, and FF of 58.19% In the solution method, the surface morphology characteristic of the precursor film is essential for obtaining the high quality of the absorber layer. Herein, the post-heating treatment (PHT) precursor films were adopted to modify the morphology significantly and the effects of different PHT temperatures on the properties of precursor films, absorber layer films, and photovoltaic devices were investigated. The precursor film with a more porous surface could be obtained by PHT, which facilitates the downward diffusion of Se easily during sulfoselenization and the formation of a large-grain-spanning monolayer structure. Furthermore, the Cu 2 ZnSn(S, Se) 4 absorber layer surface holes were significantly reduced, owing to sufficient grain growth during sulfoselenization. As a result, the device efficiency with PHT was increased to 11.07% mainly due to improved Cu 2 ZnSn(S, Se) 4 absorber spectral response. This study might provide a new potential method for adjusting precursor film morphology and thus enhancing the corresponding device performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of organic‐inorganic hybrid solar cells (HSCs) can be improved by modifying the hole transport layer (HTL). Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is the most active HTL material in organic‐inorganic HSCs and has been widely studied. Nevertheless, charge transfer in PEDOT:PSS is limited and inefficient due to the presence of the weak ionic conductor PSS. Moreover, the working function of the PEDOT:PSS film and the passivation of the PSS at the Si/PEDOT:PSS interface play a crucial role in carrier separation. The focus of this work is to explore a universal modification method to simultaneously achieve improved charge transport and interfacial passivation capability when using PEDOT:PSS as HTL. By combining bilayer design and simple solution posttreatment, the direct current conductivity (σdc) and work function of the HTL based on PEDOT:PSS are increased to 765 S cm−1 and 5.00 eV, respectively. The organic‐inorganic HSCs prepared using this approach achieve a photovoltaic conversion efficiency (PCE) of 12.33%, achieving a 16.54% improvement over untreated devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there is significant interest in Cu 2 SnS 3 (CTS) thin film solar cells owing to the eco-friendly nature and abundant elemental composition. However, the efficiency prepared in laboratory settings for these solar cell remains relatively low, primarily due to serious open-circuit voltage losses. Cation substitution is one of the strategies to alleviate this problem. In this work, Ag and Ge dual-cation substitution in CTS is proposed, which occupy partial Cu and Sn lattice sites respectively. Investigation reveals that substituting Cu with part Ag increases the band gap slightly, promotes grain growth, and improves crystallinity of CTS films. Simultaneously, Ge incorporation shifts the conduction band upwards to some extent, while reducing grain boundaries, due to increasing the grain size. As a result, the incorporation of 6 % Ag resulted in an optimal efficiency (PCE) of 2.78 %. Furthermore, employing dual-cation substitution with 6 % Ag and 6 % Ge is employed, the CTS device achieved an optimal efficiency of 3.15 %. This work develops the synergistic effect of Ag and Ge dual-cation substitution in CTS device and confirms that this approach can improve device performance, thus providing new research ideas for advancing the development of CTS device. • Preparation of ternary compound Cu 2 SnS 3 thin film solar cells by solution method. • Improve the crystal quality by adding different concentrations of Ag into the Cu 2 SnS 3 absorption layer. • Incorporated different amounts of Ge to Cu 2 SnS 3 absorber layer with containing 6 % Ag to obtain solar cells with higher efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the introduction of the concept of dopant‐free carrier‐selective contact for c‐Si photovoltaics, Si‐based heterojunction solar cells can greatly reduce production costs by optimizing the manufacturing process while maintaining high power conversion efficiency. Compared with processes that rely on complex vacuum equipment, low‐temperature solution processing has many advantages over conventional silicon solar cells. However, research on low‐cost and high‐efficiency solar cells based on p‐type crystalline silicon is relatively rare. From the point of view regards energy band matching, the inorganic metal oxide semiconductor material ZnO is well suited for low‐cost solution method studies due to its easy preparation, very high transmittance in the visible spectrum, low cost, and suitable energy levels matching p‐Si. Herein, ZnO is spin coated on the back of p‐Si to form a heterojunction, together with spin coating of PEDOT:PSS on the front side as the hole transport layer and passivation layer, a PEDOT:PSS/p‐Si/ZnO‐structured p‐Si‐based backcontact hybrid solar cell is successfully fabricated at low temperature (≤135 °C) via solution process with a PCE of 9.77% (Voc = 0.56 V, Jsc = 25.99 mA cm−2, fill factor = 67.10%). This work provides a promising approach for fabricating high‐performance and low‐cost silicon‐based heterojunction solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic–inorganic hybrid heterojunction solar cells have gained extensive attention due to the simple device structure and low‐cost technological processes, and n‐type silicon has been mainly used as the inorganic absorber in previous research. Herein, hybrid heterojunction solar cells based on p‐type silicon are successfully prepared through a low‐temperature solution method. A preliminary power conversion efficiency over 4% is observed, via optimizing the organic thin‐film deposition and organic/inorganic interface, which enhance the built‐in field and promote the separation of photogenerated carriers in the heterojunction. Therefore, a new idea and possibility are provided for developing low‐cost, high‐performance solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]