Author(s):
Yashika Agarwal, Saanvi Suri, Adit Kumar and Nitish Saini

Abstract:
Photovoltaics are key to the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with over 60 percent of global electricity projected to be supplied by solar energy by 2050, however, traditional silicon solar cells have been associated with high cost of fabrication, energy content and the electronic waste. Although high-performing, with their ABX3 crystal structure that allows them to absorb strongly, transfer charges efficiently, and tune their bandgaps, lead-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are toxic and lacks stability issues that limit their application on the parameter of sustainability. This prompts the design of lead-free perovskites, among which cesium tin chloride (CsSnCl3) is non-toxic, has an appropriate bandgap (1.3 -1.8 eV, depending on the conditions of modelling the material and its defects), and better ambient stability. It is observed that the perovskites based on chloride tend to have larger intrinsic bandgaps (>2 eV), thus, the effective bandgap used in this paper represents parameters that were actually simulated and not necessarily actual experimental results. Using SCAPS-1D, an all-inorganic CBTS/CsSnCl₃/ZnO heterostructure is optimized. The power conversion efficiency of 16.95% was achieved due to optimization. Theoretical simulations predict efficiency under ideal conditions, however, practical values are often lower due to defects, interface losses, and fabrication constraints.

Pages: 928-945

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