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Advances in Future Energy Materials
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Advances in Future Energy Materials

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 July 2020) | Viewed by 19417

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sadia Ameen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Advanced Materials and Devices Laboratory, Department of Bio-Convergence Science, Advance Science Campus, Jeonbuk National University, Jeongeup 56212, Republic of Korea
Interests: synthesis of nanomaterials; solar cells; electrochemical sensors; catalyst; optoelectronic devices
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to draw your attention to our upcoming Special Issue on “Advances in Future Energy Materials” which will be published in Applied Sciences, (ISSN 2076-3417; CODEN: ASPCC7, IF-2.217, https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci), an international peer-reviewed open-access journal by MDPI. Professor Sadia Ameen is serving as Guest Editor for this Issue. The purpose of this Special Issue is to solicit original contributions and publish recent advances in future energy materials for solar cells and other applications. Based on your professional knowledge, I believe that you could make an excellent contribution to this Special Issue. Since you are an expert in the field, I sincerely invite you to submit related papers to us.

For further reading, please follow the link to the Special Issue Website at: “https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci/special_issues/Advances_in_Future_Energy_Materials”. The deadline for this submission is 30 July 2020. However, I encourage you to submit your work as soon as it is ready. Please note that all submitted articles will undergo peer review.

In case of any inquiries or if you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact [email protected]. I am looking forward to your contribution.

Prof. Dr. Sadia Ameen
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. Applied Sciences 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 2400 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

  • energy materials
  • solar cells
  • methodology
  • characterization
  • devices
  • electrochemistry
  • catalysts
  • energy storage
  • energy conversion

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 6686 KiB  
Article
Vertically Arranged Zinc Oxide Nanorods as Antireflection Layer for Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell: A Simulation Study of Photovoltaic Properties
by Deb Kumar Shah, Devendra KC, M. Shaheer Akhtar, Chong Yeal Kim and O-Bong Yang
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(17), 6062; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10176062 - 1 Sep 2020
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 4379
Abstract
This paper describes the unique antireflection (AR) layer of vertically arranged ZnO nanorods (NRs) on crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells and studies the charge transport and photovoltaic properties by simulation. The vertically arranged ZnO NRs were deposited on ZnO-seeded c-Si wafers by a [...] Read more.
This paper describes the unique antireflection (AR) layer of vertically arranged ZnO nanorods (NRs) on crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells and studies the charge transport and photovoltaic properties by simulation. The vertically arranged ZnO NRs were deposited on ZnO-seeded c-Si wafers by a simple low-temperature solution process. The lengths of the ZnO NRs were optimized by changing the reaction times. Highly dense and vertically arranged ZnO NRs were obtained over the c-Si wafer when the reaction time was 5 h. The deposited ZnO NRs on the c-Si wafers exhibited the lowest reflectance of ~7.5% at 838 nm, having a reasonable average reflectance of ~9.5% in the whole wavelength range (400–1000 nm). Using PC1D software, the charge transport and photovoltaic properties of c-Si solar cells were explored by considering the lengths of the ZnO NRs and the reflectance values. The 1.1 μm length of the ZnO NRs and a minimum average reflectance of 9.5% appeared to be the optimum values for achieving the highest power conversion efficiency of 14.88%. The simulation study for the vertically arranged ZnO NRs AR layers clearly reflects that the low-temperature deposited ZnO NRs on c-Si solar cells could pose a greater prospect in the manufacturing of low-cost c-Si solar cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Future Energy Materials)
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Figure 1

Figure 1
<p>Schematic diagram of growth of ZnO nanorods (NRs) on a textured Si wafer.</p> Full article ">Figure 2
<p>Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) image of the top view of ZnO NRs of treatment times (<b>a</b>) 3 h, (<b>b</b>) 4 h, (<b>c</b>) 5 h, and (<b>d</b>) 6 h on bare Si substrate and (<b>e</b>) 3 h, (<b>f</b>) 4 h, (<b>g</b>) 5 h, and (<b>h</b>) 6 h on textured Si substrate.</p> Full article ">Figure 3
<p>FESEM image of (<b>a</b>) top and (<b>b</b>) cross-sectional view of ZnO NRs for 5 h.</p> Full article ">Figure 4
<p>XRD Analysis of ZnO NRs on the surface of Si at (<b>a</b>) 3 h, (<b>b</b>) 4 h, and (<b>c</b>) 5 h treatment time.</p> Full article ">Figure 5
<p>(<b>a</b>) Photoluminescence and (<b>b</b>) Raman spectrum, with an inset image of ZnO NRs on a Si wafer for 5 h of treatment time.</p> Full article ">Figure 6
<p>UV-Vis spectra in reflectance mode of the bare Si wafer, textured Si wafer, and vertically arranged ZnO NRs on textured Si wafers.</p> Full article ">Figure 7
<p>(<b>a</b>) Refractive index and (<b>b</b>) extinction coefficient plots of the bare Si wafer, textured Si wafer, and vertically arranged ZnO NRs on textured Si wafers.</p> Full article ">Figure 8
<p>(<b>a</b>) I-V curve with a power curve and (<b>b</b>) incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) curve of Si solar cells based on ZnO NRs antireflection (AR).</p> Full article ">Figure 9
<p>Influence of variation in the length of ZnO NRs AR on diffusion length.</p> Full article ">
12 pages, 2754 KiB  
Article
Planar D-?-A Configured Dimethoxy Vinylbenzene Based Small Organic Molecule for Solution-Processed Bulk Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells
by Shabaz Alam, M. Shaheer Akhtar, Abdullah, Eun-Bi Kim, Hyung-Shik Shin and Sadia Ameen
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(17), 5743; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10175743 - 19 Aug 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2762
Abstract
A new and effective planar D-π-A configured small organic molecule (SOM) of 2-5-(3,5-dimethoxystyryl)thiophen-2-yl)methylene)-1H-indene-1,3(2H)-dione, abbreviated as DVB-T-ID, was synthesized using 1,3-indanedione acceptor and dimethoxy vinylbenzene donor units, connected through a thiophene π-spacer. The presence of a dimethoxy vinylbenzene unit and π-spacer in DVB-T-ID significantly [...] Read more.
A new and effective planar D-π-A configured small organic molecule (SOM) of 2-5-(3,5-dimethoxystyryl)thiophen-2-yl)methylene)-1H-indene-1,3(2H)-dione, abbreviated as DVB-T-ID, was synthesized using 1,3-indanedione acceptor and dimethoxy vinylbenzene donor units, connected through a thiophene π-spacer. The presence of a dimethoxy vinylbenzene unit and π-spacer in DVB-T-ID significantly improved the absorption behavior by displaying maximum absorbance at ~515 nm, and the reasonable band gap was estimated as ~2.06 eV. The electronic properties revealed that DVB-T-ID SOMs exhibited promising HOMO (−5.32 eV) and LUMO (−3.26 eV). The synthesized DVB-T-ID SOM was utilized as donor material for fabricating solution-processed bulk heterojunction organic solar cells (BHJ-OSCs) and showed a reasonable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of ~3.1% with DVB-T-ID:PC61BM (1:2, w/w) active layer. The outcome of this work clearly reflects that synthesized DVB-T-ID based on 1,3-indanedione units is a promising absorber (donor) material for BHJ-OSCs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Future Energy Materials)
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Figure 1

Figure 1
<p>(<b>a</b>) Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and (<b>b</b>) differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) plots of DVB-T-ID SOMs.</p> Full article ">Figure 2
<p>(<b>a</b>) UV-Vis absorption and (<b>b</b>) photoluminescence (PL) spectra of a DVB-T-ID SOM in a chloroform solvent and solid state thin film.</p> Full article ">Figure 3
<p>(<b>a</b>) UV-Vis absorption and (<b>b</b>) PL spectra of DVB-T-ID:PC<sub>61</sub>BM) thin films of different blend ratios (1:1, 1:2, and 1:3 (<span class="html-italic">w</span>/<span class="html-italic">w</span>)).</p> Full article ">Figure 4
<p>Cyclic voltammetry and molecular structure of a DVB-T-ID thin film in 0.1 M TBAPF<sub>6</sub> as the supporting electrolyte in an anhydrous acetonitrile solution, with ferrocene as an external reference.</p> Full article ">Figure 5
<p>(<b>a</b>) Band structure of BHJ-OSC and (<b>b</b>) J-V curves of fabricated BHJ-OSCs with an active layer of DVB-T-ID:PC<sub>61</sub>BM of blend ratios 1:1 and 1:2 (<span class="html-italic">w</span>/<span class="html-italic">w</span>).</p> Full article ">Figure 6
<p>Representative AFM height and 3D images of (<b>a</b>,<b>b</b>) 1:1, <span class="html-italic">w</span>/<span class="html-italic">w</span>, (<b>c</b>,<b>d</b>) 1:2, <span class="html-italic">w</span>/<span class="html-italic">w</span> and (<b>e</b>,<b>f</b>) 1:3, <span class="html-italic">w</span>/w of DVB-T-ID:PC<sub>61</sub>BM blend thin films.</p> Full article ">Scheme 1
<p>The synthetic route for 2((5-(3,5-Dimethoxystyryl) thiophen-2-yl)methylene)-1H-indene-1,3(2H)-dione (DVB-T-ID) chromophores.</p> Full article ">
13 pages, 707 KiB  
Article
Sustainable End of Life Management of Crystalline Silicon and Thin Film Solar Photovoltaic Waste: The Impact of Transportation
by Ilke Celik, Marina Lunardi, Austen Frederickson and Richard Corkish
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(16), 5465; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10165465 - 7 Aug 2020
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 5193
Abstract
This work provides economic and environmental analyses of transportation-related impacts of different photovoltaic (PV) module technologies at their end-of-life (EoL) phase. Our results show that crystalline silicon (c-Si) modules are the most economical PV technology (United States Dollars (USD) 2.3 per 1 m [...] Read more.
This work provides economic and environmental analyses of transportation-related impacts of different photovoltaic (PV) module technologies at their end-of-life (EoL) phase. Our results show that crystalline silicon (c-Si) modules are the most economical PV technology (United States Dollars (USD) 2.3 per 1 m2 PV module (or 0.87 ¢/W) for transporting in the United States for 1000 km). Furthermore, we found that the financial costs of truck transportation for PV modules for 2000 km are only slightly more than for 1000 km. CO2-eq emissions associated with transport are a significant share of the EoL impacts, and those for copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) PV modules are always higher than for c-Si and CdTe PV. Transportation associated CO2-eq emissions contribute 47%, 28%, and 40% of overall EoL impacts of c-Si, CdTe, and CIGS PV wastes, respectively. Overall, gasoline-fueled trucks have 65–95% more environmental impacts compared to alternative transportation options of the diesel and electric trains and ships. Finally, a hotspot analysis on the entire life cycle CO2-eq emissions of different PV technologies showed that the EoL phase-related emissions are more significant for thin-film PV modules compared to crystalline silicon PV technologies and, so, more environmentally friendly material recovery methods should be developed for thin film PV. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Future Energy Materials)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1
<p>The cost of transportation of different type PV modules with diesel-fueled trucks (note that after 1500 km the unit cost (USD/km) of truck transportation decreases about 40%).</p> Full article ">Figure 2
<p>Environmental impacts of transportation of PV module (<b>a</b>) global warming potential (GWP) emissions of transportation (<b>b</b>) total normalized environmental impacts of PV transportation. Note that the calculations for transportation vehicles were performed assuming the average weight of PV module as 20 kg.</p> Full article ">Figure 3
<p>Carbon footprint of PV end-of-life (EoL) management.</p> Full article ">
11 pages, 5118 KiB  
Article
Facile Synthesis of Highly Conductive Vanadium-Doped NiO Film for Transparent Conductive Oxide
by Ashique Kotta and Hyung Kee Seo
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(16), 5415; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10165415 - 5 Aug 2020
Cited by 30 | Viewed by 6384
Abstract
Metal-oxide-based electrodes play a crucial role in various transparent conductive oxide (TCO) applications. Among the p-type materials, nickel oxide is a promising electrically conductive material due to its good stability, large bandgap, and deep valence band. Here, we display pristine and 3 at.%V-doped [...] Read more.
Metal-oxide-based electrodes play a crucial role in various transparent conductive oxide (TCO) applications. Among the p-type materials, nickel oxide is a promising electrically conductive material due to its good stability, large bandgap, and deep valence band. Here, we display pristine and 3 at.%V-doped NiO synthesized by the solvothermal decomposition method. The properties of both the pristine and 3 at.%V:NiO nanoparticles were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The film properties were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and a source meter. Our results suggest that incorporation of vanadium into the NiO lattice significantly improves both electrical conductivity and hole extraction. Also, 3 at.%V:NiO exhibits a lower crystalline size when compared to pristine nickel oxide, which maintains the reduction of surface roughness. These results indicate that vanadium is an excellent dopant for NiO. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Future Energy Materials)
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Figure 1

Figure 1
<p>(<b>a</b>) XRD spectra of pristine and 3 at.%V:NiO nanoparticles (NPs) and (<b>b</b>) enlarged XRD spectra of pristine NiO and 3 at.%V:NiO NPs.</p> Full article ">Figure 2
<p>(<b>a</b>) FTIR spectra of NiO and 3 at.%V:NiO with precursor materials, (<b>b</b>) EDS spectra of 3 at.%V:NiO NPs, and (<b>c</b>) EDS elemental mapping of the corresponding elements of Ni, O, and V (scale bar, 2 μm).</p> Full article ">Figure 3
<p>(<b>a</b>) Raman spectra of NiO and 3 at.%V:NiO NP powder samples; (<b>b</b>) UV-absorption spectra of diluted NiO and V:NiO NP solutions with different atomic percentages of V; (<b>c</b>) Corresponding Tauc plots of the absorption spectra; (<b>d</b>) Optical transmission spectra of NiO and V:NiO films with different atomic percentages of V.</p> Full article ">Figure 4
<p>(a) FESEM images of (<b>a</b>) NiO and (<b>b</b>) 3 at.%V:NiO and TEM patterns of (<b>c</b>) NiO and (<b>d</b>) 3 at.%V:NiO. (<b>e</b>,<b>f</b>) HRTEM images of both (<b>e</b>) NiO and (<b>f</b>) 3 at.%V:NiO and (<b>g</b>) statistics of the particle distributions of NiO and 3 at.%V:NiO NPs.</p> Full article ">Figure 5
<p>(<b>a</b>–<b>c</b>) XPS spectra of NiO: (<b>a</b>) survey spectra (inset: high-resolution spectra of V 2p), high-resolution (<b>b</b>) Ni 2p<sub>3/2</sub> and (<b>c</b>) O 1s; (<b>d</b>–<b>f</b>) XPS spectra of 3 at.%V:NiO: (<b>a</b>) survey spectra (inset: high-resolution spectra of V 2p), high-resolution (<b>b</b>) Ni 2p<sub>3/2</sub> and (<b>c</b>) O 1s.</p> Full article ">Figure 6
<p>AFM topography and 3D AFM images of (<b>a</b>,<b>b</b>) NiO NPs and (<b>c</b>,<b>d</b>) 3 at.%V:NiO.</p> Full article ">Figure 7
<p>I–V curves of NiO and 3 at.%V:NiO films based on the structure of FTO/NiO or 3 at.%V:NiO/Ag; the inset shows the corresponding fabricated electrode structure.</p> Full article ">Scheme 1
<p>Synthesis of V:NiO nanoparticles by solvothermal decomposition of a V:Ni-oleylamine complex.</p> Full article ">
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