WFU Physics Colloquium

TITLE: Earth-Abundant Metal Chalcogenides: Synthesis, Interface Modification, and Applications in Energy Conversion Devices

SPEAKER: Wenxiao Huang

TIME: Thursday March 30, 2017 at 3:00 PM

PLACE: Room 101 Olin Physical Laboratory

Metal chalcogenides (MCs) have attracted significant attention in a variety of energy devices for the wide range of properties that MCs can offer by combining different metal cations and chalcogenides anions. However, the most common MCs used for photovoltaic and thermoelectric devices all consist rare or toxic elements which rises criticism on their candidacy as a solution for future sustainable energy. The focus of this work is to develop low-cost solution methods to synthesize non-toxic earth-abundant MC materials Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) and Sb₂S₃ for thin-film solar cells and thermoelectric generator. By tweaking the surface chemistry of CZTS nanocrystals, we fabricated CZTS thin-films with high carrier mobility and large grain size without involving hazardous procedure. We also derived ligand-free nanostructured CZTS from aerogel for the first time, and explored its potential application for thermoelectric generator. At last, we’ll show you a planar heterojunction Sb₂S₃ solar cell with an efficiency of 4.2% fabricated via a simple sol-gel method. Combined with interface modification, we achieved a record-breaking power conversion efficiency 5.3%.