The cobalt silicides were investigated for employment as a catalytic layer for a DSSC. Using an E-gun evaporation process, we prepared a sample of 100 nm-thick cobalt on a p-type Si (100) wafer. To form cobalt silicides, the samples were annealed at temperatures of 300 oC, 500 oC, and 700 oC for 30 minutes in a vacuum. Four-point probe, XRD, FE-SEM, and CV analyses were used to determine the sheet resistance, phase, microstructure, and catalytic activity of the cobalt silicides. To confirm the corrosion stability, we also checked the microstructure change of the cobalt silicides after dipping into iodide electrolyte. Through the sheet resistance and XRD results, we determined that Co2Si, CoSi, and CoSi2 were formed successfully by annealing at 300 oC, 500 oC, and 700 oC, respectively. The microstructure analysis results showed that all the cobalt silicides were formed uniformly, and CoSi and CoSi2 layers were very stable even after dipping in the iodide electrolyte. The CV result showed that CoSi and CoSi2 exhibit catalytic activities 67 % and 54 % that of Pt. Our results for Co2Si, CoSi, and CoSi2 revealed that CoSi and CoSi2 could be employed as catalyst for a DSSC.

Octahedral Co3O4/carbon nanofiber (CNF) composites are fabricated using electrospinning and hydrothermal methods. Their morphological characteristics, chemical bonding states, and electrochemical properties are used to demonstrate the improved photovoltaic properties of the samples. Octahedral Co3O4 grown on CNFs is based on metallic Co nanoparticles acting as seeds in the CNFs, which seeds are directly related to the high performance of DSSCs. The octahedral Co3O4/CNFs composites exhibit high photocurrent density (12.73 mA/m2), superb fill factor (62.1 %), and excellent power conversion efficiency (5.61 %) compared to those characteristics of commercial Co3O4, conventional CNFs, and metallic Co-seed/CNFs. These results can be described as stemmnig from the synergistic effect of the porous and graphitized matrix formed by catalytic graphitization using the metal cobalt catalyst on CNFs, which leads to an increase in the catalytic activity for the reduction of triiodide ions. Therefore, octahedral Co3O4/CNFs composites can be used as a counter electrode for Pt-free dye-sensitized solar cells.

Carbon nanofiber (CNF) composites coated with spindle-shaped Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) are fabricated by a combination of an electrospinning method and a hydrothermal method, and their morphological, structural, and chemical properties are measured by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Xray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. For comparison, CNFs and spindle-shaped Fe2O3 NPs are prepared by either an electrospinning method or a hydrothermal method, respectively. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) fabricated with the composites exhibit enhanced open circuit voltage (0.70 V), short-circuit current density (12.82 mA/cm2), fill factor (61.30%), and power conversion efficiency (5.52%) compared to those of the CNFs (0.66 V, 11.61 mA/cm2, 51.96%, and 3.97%) and spindle-shaped Fe2O3 NPs (0.67 V, 11.45 mA/cm2, 50.17%, and 3.86%). This performance improvement can be attributed to a synergistic effect of a superb catalytic reaction of spindle-shaped Fe2O3 NPs and efficient charge transfer relative to the one-dimensional nanostructure of the CNFs. Therefore, spindle-shaped Fe2O3-NPcoated CNF composites may be proposed as a potential alternative material for low-cost counter electrodes in DSSCs.

입자 크기가 약 16 및 5 nm인 두 다른 크기의 TiO2 나노입자들과 titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) binder 와 ethanol 용매만으로 제조된 코팅액을 사용하여 130 oC 저온 열처리로 ITO/PEN substrate 위에 메조다공성 TiO2 박막들을 형성하였다. 이들 TiO2/ITO/PEN 박막들을 활용한 유연 염료감응 태양전지들을 제작하여 광변환 특성을 비교 연구하였다. 크기가 다른 두 TiO2 나노입자들을 각각 단독으로 사용하여 제작된 cell들의 경우에 크기가 16 nm 인 TiO2 나노입자 cell이 5 nm인 나노입자 cell에 비해 박막의 porosity가 훨씬 크고 같은 질량에서 표면적이 훨씬 넓어 광변환 효율이 훨씬 높으나 염료 흡착량에 대해 상대적으로 작은 광전류는 입자간의 연결성에 기인되며 큰 입 자에 작은 입자를 10% 정도 혼합한 경우에 표면적 증가와 함께 입자간의 연결성을 강화시켜 큰 입자 단독으로 제작 된 cell에 비해 광변환 효율이 크게 증가됨을 확인하였다.

This study describes the effects of treated water (TW) on PH changing, growth of watermelon seedlings, canola oil and diesel absorption, the antibacterial ability of the filter that composited from polyurethane(PU) and silver powder(Ag) producing by Electrospinning. In this study, we used the battery energy acquired from solar cell, the water has been processed when it pass through the electromagnetic field. The results of this research indicated that the PH value of TW changed slightly compared with untreated water (UW), but the TW could absorb smell of PH reagent. In addition, the TW could also promote the growth of watermelon seedling, and the growth of watermelon seedling stem length was about twice compared with UW. On the effects of canola oil and diesel absorption, the TW also showed a good oil absorptive capacity, especially for the diesel absorption, it could absorb 28% diesel. For the PU+PU+Ag/CNT filter, it showed about 100% of the antibacterial rate on strain 1 (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538P) and 2 (Escherichia coli ATCC 8739).

Co-embedded graphitic porous carbon nanofibers(Co-GPCNFs) are synthesized by using an electrospinning method. Their morphological, structural, electrochemical, and photovoltaic properties are investigated. To obtain the optimum condition of Co-GPCNFs for dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs), the amount of cobalt precursor in an electrospinning solutuion are controlled to be 0 wt%(conventional CNFs), 1 wt%(sample A), and 3 wt%(sample B). Among them, sample B exhibited a high degree of graphitization and porous structure compared to conventional CNFs and sample A, which result in the performance improvement of DSSCs. Therefore, sample B showed a high current density(JSC, 12.88 mA/cm2) and excellent power conversion efficiency(PCE, 5.33 %) than those of conventional CNFs(12.00 mA/cm2, 3.78 %). This result can be explained by combined effects of the increased contact area between the electrode and elecytolyte caused by improved porosity and the increased conductivity caused by the formation of a high degree of graphitization. Thus, the Co-GPCNFs may be used as a promising alternative of Pt-free counter electrode in DSSCs.

In this study, analysed the characteristics of power drop and surface damage in solar cell through high temperature and humidity test in the 3 case of EVA(ethylene vinyl acetate) and 2 case ribbon thickness. The solar cells were tested during the 500hr in 85℃ temperature and 85% relative humidity conditions, that excerpted standard of PV Module(KS C IEC-61215). Through the EL(Electroluminescence) shots, specimen's surface have partialy damaged. Before and after high humidity and high temperature test, ribbon thickness 200㎛ EVA1 case power drop rate was 8.463%, EVA2 case was 6.667%, EVA3 case was 6.373%. In the ribbon thickness 250㎛ EVA1 case power drop rate was 6.521%, EVA2 case was 8.517%, EVA3 case was 6.019%. EVA3 case was the lowest power and FF(fill factor) drop rate at the 2 case of ribbon thickness, because EVA3 is laerger than EVA1 and EVA2 in thickness, elongation and tensile strength.

The organic binder-free paste for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has been investigated using peroxo titanium complex. The crystal structure of TiO2 nanoparticles, morphology of TiO2 film and electrical properties are analyzed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Electrochemical Impedance Spectra (EIS), and solar simulator. The synthesized TiO2 nanopowders by the peroxo titanium complex at 150, 300, 400˚C, and 450˚C have anatase phase and average crystal sizes are calculated to be 4.2, 13.7, 16.9, and 20.9 nm, respectively. The DSSC prepared by the peroxo titanium complex binder have higher Voc and lower Jsc values than that of the organic binder. It can be attributed to improvement of sintering properties of TCO/TiO2 and TiO2/TiO2 interface and to formation of agglomerate by the nanoparticles. As a result, we have investigated the organic binder-free paste and 3.178% conversion efficiency of the DSSC at 450˚C.

For rear metallization with Al paste, Al back contacts require good passivation, high reflectance, and a processing temperature window compatible with the front metal. In this paper, the effect of the firing ambient during the metallization process on the formation of Al rear metal was investigated. We chose three different gases as ambient gases during the firing process. Using SEM, we observed the formation of a back surface field in N2, O2, and Air ambients. To determine the effect of the ambient on Voc, the suns-Voc tool was used. In this study, we described the mechanism of burn-out of organic materials in Al paste during the firing process. The oxygen ambient plays an important role in the burn-out process. We calculated the efficiency with obtained the back surface recombination velocities using PC1D simulation. It was found that the presence of oxygen during the firing process influenced the uniform back surface field because the organic materials in the Al paste were efficiently burned out during heating. The optimized temperature with oxygen flow shows an absolute efficiency of 19.1% at PC1D simulation.

태양전지는 태양복사에너지를 반도체의 광전효과를 통해 전기에너지로 변환시키는 친환경 에너지변환장치를 의미한다. 수분을 포함하는 다양한 화학물질들에 대한 높은 차단성을 갖는 다층형 필름인 백시트는 태양전지의 중요한 요소이다. 대표적인 백시트는 polyvinyl fluoride (PVF)와 poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)의 다층필름으로 구성된다. PVF는 높은 내후성을 가지는 반면, 가격이 상대적으로 비싼 단점을 보인다. 따라서, 백시트의 제조가격을 낮출 수 있으면서, 동시에 실제 태양전지모듈에 적용할만한 수명특성을 만족시킬 수 있는 대체소재의 개발이 필수적이다. 본 연구에서는 일정수준의 결정성을 갖는 PET 필름을 PVF 필름 대신 사용하였다. 그러나, PET 소재는 다양한 pH 조건에서 trans-esterification 및 가수분해에 의해 분해될 수 있기 때문에, 태양전지의 구동조건에서 PET의 분해거동을 이해할 필요가 있다. 단시간 내 화학적 분해거동을 평가하기 위해서, 가속화된 PET 분해실험 프로토콜이 개발되었다. 마지막으로, 제안 개념의 효용성은 태양전지모듈의 장기운전성능 평가를 통해 확인하였다.

This study provides a comparison and analysis of the predicted damages related to hazardous chemical substances used in “A” solar cell manufacturing process. In order to predict potential damages, different accident scenarios were established using the ALOHA model and the KOSHA guideline. This study evaluates chemical spills and leaks from cylinder and pipeline. Maximum distance of chemical movement, based on an initial concentration of 150 ppm, was estimated as up to 258 m in summer and 251 m in winter. The impacts of the leakage of chemicals such as ammonia, were dependent on the initial concentration of the chemical leaked, the atmospheric stability and temperature, and the wind speed. All of those however, were affected by air humidity.

Silicon oxynitride that can be deposited two times faster than general SiNx:H layer was applied to fabricate the passivation protection layer of atomic layer deposition (ALD) Al2O3. The protection layer is deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition to protect Al2O3 passivation layer from a high temperature metallization process for contact firing in screen-printed silicon solar cell. In this study, we studied passivation performance of ALD Al2O3 film as functions of process temperature and RF plasma effect in plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition system. Al2O3/SiON stacks coated at 400 oC showed higher lifetime values in the as-stacked state. In contrast, a high quality Al2O3/SiON stack was obtained with a plasma power of 400 W and a capping-deposition temperature of 200 oC after the firing process. The best lifetime was achieved with stack films fired at 850 oC. These results demonstrated the potential of the Al2O3/SiON passivated layer for crystalline silicon solar cells.

Photovoltaic (PV) modules are environmentally energy conversion devices to generate electricity via photovoltaic effect of semiconductor from solar energy. One of key elements in PV modules is “backsheet,” a multilayered barrier film. A desirable backsheet should exhibit barrier properties. A representative backsheet materials is composed of polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). In this study, we utilize PET films with high crystallinity, instead of PVF. Since it is well known that PET is suffering from hydrolysis, it is needed to understand PET decomposition behavior. To evaluate their hydrolysis behavior, accelerated PET decomposition test protocols are used. Electro chemical PV module performances are investigated to prove the efficacy of hydrolyticall durable PET films selected via the screening process.

This paper presents the impact of partial shading on CuInxGa(1-x)Se2(CIGS) photovoltaic(PV) modules with bypass diodes. When the CIGS PV modules were partially shaded, the modules were under conditions of partial reverse bias. We investigated the characterization of the bypass diode and solar cell properties of the CIGS PV modules when these was partially shaded, comparing the results with those for a crystalline silicon module. In crystalline silicon modules, the bypass diode was operated at a partial shade modules of 1.67 % shading. This protected the crystalline silicon module from hot spot damage. In CIGS thin film modules, on the other hand, the bypass diode was not operated before 20 % shading. This caused damage because of hotspots, which occurred as wormlike defects in the CIGS thin film module. Moreover, the bypass diode adapted to the CIGS thin film module was operated fully at 60% shading, while the CIGS thin film module was not operated under these conditions. It is known that the bypass diode adapted to the CIGS thin film module operated more slowly than that of the crystalline silicon module; this bypass diode also failed to protect the module from damage. This was because of the reverse saturation current of the CIGS thin film, 1.99 × 10−5 A/cm2, which was higher than that of crystalline silicon, 8.11 × 10−7 A/cm2.

유기태양전지의 투명전극으로서 기존의 값비싸고 깨지기 쉬운 Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) 전극을 대체하고자, 전도성 고분자인 poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)를 적용하였다. 솔벤트의 도핑 농도에 따른 PEDOT:PSS 박막의 전기 전도도와 표면 거칠기의 특성 변화를 관찰하고, 그 결과가 PEDOT:PSS를 투명전극으로 사용한 유기태양전지의 특성에 미치는 영향을 연구하였다. PEDOT:PSS의 솔벤트 농도가 증가함에 따라, 박막의 표면 거칠기가 증가하고, 이는 유기태양전지의 단락전류의 변화를 야기했다. 또한, 소자의 홀 이동층이 얇아짐에 따라 광활성층의 단파장영역의 광흡수가 증가하는 것을 관찰할 수 있었다.

Nitrogen-doped ZnO nanoparticle-carbon nanofiber composites were prepared using electrospinning. As the relative amounts of N-doped ZnO nanoparticles in the composites were controlled to levels of 3.4, 9.6, and 13.8 wt%, the morphological, structural, and chemical properties of the composites were characterized by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In particular, the carbon nanofiber composites containing 13.8 wt% N-doped ZnO nanoparticles exhibited superior catalytic properties, making them suitable for use as counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). This result can be attributed to the enhanced surface roughness of the composites, which offers sites for I3- ion reductions and the formation of Zn3N2 phases that facilitate electron transfer. Therefore, DSSCs fabricated with 13.8 wt% N-doped ZnO nanoparticle-carbon nanofiber composites showed high current density (16.3mA/cm2), high fill factor (57.8%), and excellent power-conversion efficiency (6.69%); at the same time, these DSSCs displayed power-conversion efficiency almost identical to that of DSSCs fabricated with a pure Pt counter electrode (6.57%).

Recently, improvement in the conversion efficiency of silicon-based solar cells has been achieved by decreasing emitter doping concentration, because the lightly doped emitter can effectively prevent the recombination of electrons and holes generated by solar light irradiation. This type of emitter is very thin due to the low doping concentration, thus conductive materials (i.e., silver) used for front electrodes can easily penetrate the emitter during a firing process because of their large diffusivity in silicon. This results in junction leakage currents which might reduce cell efficiencies. In this study, Al2O3-coated Ag powders were synthesized by an ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method and applied to the conductive materials of the front electrode to control the junction leakage current. The Al2O3 shell obstructs the Ag diffusion into the emitter during the firing process. The powder is spherical with a core-shell structure and the thickness of the Al2O3 shell is tens of nanometers. Solar cells were fabricated using pure Ag powders or the Al2O3-coated Ag powder as front electrode materials, and the conversion efficiency and junction leakage current were compared to investigate the role of the Al2O3 shell during the firing processes.

본 연구는 염료감응형 태양전지를 이용하여 시간에 따른 일사량과 그에 따른 전력량의 분석을 통해 계절적 변화에 따른 온실 적용 염료감응형 태양전지의 효율에 관한 기초 자료 수집 및 분석을 목표로 하였다. 경상대 학교 소재 온실 근처(위도 35o 9' 9.20" N, 경도 128o 5' 44.90" E, 고도 52m)에 태양전지 어레이를 설치, 2012 년 8월, 10월, 11월, 2013년 2월 약 네 달 동안 태양전 지가 받는 일사량과 그에 따른 전력량을 측정 및 비교, 분석하였다. 10월의 태양전지 패널 면적에 따른 일사량이 약 1,013.03MJ, 발생된 전력량은 약 4.87kWh로 네 달 중 가장 높게 측정되었고, 11월의 패널 면적에 따른 일사량이 약 755.25MJ, 발생 전력량은 약 3.34kWh로 가장 낮게 측정되었다. 염료감응형 태양전지의 평균 효율의 경 우 8월 한 달간, 약 3.12%로 측정되었고, 10월 2.60%, 11월 2.39%, 2월 2.23%로 각각 측정되었다. 본 연구를 통해, 향후 염료감응형 태양전지의 온실 등 농업분야 적 용 시 기초자료로 활용 할 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

Serious environmental problems have been caused by the greenhouse effect due to carbon dioxide(CO2) or nitrogen oxides(NOx) generated by the use of fossil fuels, including oil and liquefied natural gas. Many countries, including our own, the United States, those of the European Union and other developed countries around the world; have shown growing interest in clean energy, and have been concentrating on the development of new energy-saving materials and devices. Typical non-fossil-fuel sources include solar cells, wind power, tidal power, nuclear power, and fuel cells. In particular, organic solar cells(OSCs) have relatively low power-conversion efficiency(PCE) in comparison with inorganic(silicon) based solar cells, compound semiconductor solar cells and the CIGS [Cu(In1-xGax)Se2] thin film solar cells. Recently, organic cell efficiencies greater than 10 % have been obtained by means of the development of new organic semiconducting materials, which feature improvements in crystalline properties, as well as in the quantum-dot nano-structure of the active layers. In this paper, a brief overview of solar cells in general is presented. In particular, the current development status of the next-generation OSCs including their operation principle, device-manufacturing processes, and improvements in the PCE are described.

Solar cells exhibit different power outputs in different climates. In this study, the temperature dependence of open-circuit voltage(V-oc), short-circuit current(I-sc), fill factor(FF) and the efficiency of screen-printed single-crystal silicon solar cells were studied. One group was fabricated with homogeneously-doped emitters and another group was fabricated with selectively-doped emitters. While varying the temperature (25, 40, 60 and 80˚C), the current-voltage characteristics of the cells were measured and the leakage currents extracted from the current-voltage curve. As the temperature increased, both the homogeneously-doped and selectively-doped emitters showed a slight increase in I-sc and a rapid degradation of V-oc. The FF and efficiency also decreased as temperature increased in both groups. The temperature coefficient for each factor was calculated. From the current-voltage curve, we found that the main cause of V-oc degradation was an increase in the intrinsic carrier concentration. The temperature coefficients of the two groups were compared, leading to the idea that structural effects could also affect the temperature dependence of current-voltage characteristics.