Improving the UV-light stability of silicon heterojunction solar cells through plasmon-enhanced luminescence downshifting of YVO_(4):Eu^(3+),Bi^(3+)nanophosphors decorated with Ag nanoparticles

The ultraviolet(UV)light stability of silicon heterojunction(SHJ)solar cells should be addressed before large-scale production and applications.Introducing downshifting(DS)nanophosphors on top of solar cells that can convert UV light to visible light may reduce UV-induced degradation(UVID)without sacrificing the power conversion efficiency(PCE).Herein,a novel composite DS nanomaterial composed of YVO_(4):Eu^(3+),Bi^(3+)nanoparticles(NPs)and AgNPs was synthesized and introduced onto the incident light side of industrial SHJ solar cells to achieve UV shielding.The YVO_(4):Eu^(3+),Bi^(3+)NPs and Ag NPs were synthesized via a sol-gel method and a wet chemical reduction method,respectively.Then,a composite structure of the YVO_(4):Eu^(3+),Bi^(3+)NPs decorated with Ag NPs was synthesized by an ultrasonic method.The emission intensities of the YVO_(4):Eu^(3+),Bi^(3+)nanophosphors were significantly enhanced upon decoration with an appropriate amount of~20 nm Ag NPs due to the localized surface plasmon resonance(LSPR)effect.Upon the introduction of LSPR-enhanced downshifting,the SHJ solar cells exhibited an~0.54%relative decrease in PCE degradation under UV irradiation with a cumulative dose of 45 k W h compared to their counterparts,suggesting excellent potential for application in UV-light stability enhancement of solar cells or modules.

Review on Metallization Approaches for High-Efficiency Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells

Crystalline silicon(c-Si)heterojunction(HJT)solar cells are one of the promising technologies for next-generation industrial high-efficiency silicon solar cells,and many efforts in transferring this technology to high-volume manufacturing in the photovoltaic(PV)industry are currently ongoing.Metallization is of vital importance to the PV performance and long-term reliability of HJT solar cells.In this review,we summarize the development status of metallization approaches for highefficiency HJT solar cells.For conventional screen printing technology,to avoid the degradation of the passivation properties of the amorphous silicon layer,a low-temperature-cured(<250℃)paste and process are needed.This process,in turn,leads to high line/contact resistances and high paste costs.To improve the conductivity of electrodes and reduce the metallization cost,multi-busbar,fine-line printing,and low-temperature-cured silver-coated copper pastes have been developed.In addition,several potential metallization technologies for HJT solar cells,such as the Smart Wire Contacting Technology,pattern transfer printing,inkjet/FlexTrailprinting,and copper electroplating,are discussed in detail.B ased on the summary,the potential and challenges of these metallization technologies for HJT solar cells are analyzed.

Three-dimensional carbon framework as high-proportion sulfur host for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur(Li-S)batteries are anticipated as one of the most promising candidates for the highenergy-density storage systems.However,the insulating nature and shuttling effect of sulfur severely limits their performance.The incorporation of sulfur with carbon materials has been deemed as one of the most powerful strategies to improve electrical conductivity and suppress soluble polysulfide shuttling.Herein,a novel three-dimensional carbon framework(3DCF)is prepared and employed as a sulfur host(3DCF@S)for Li-S batteries.The 3DCF not only supplies abundant paths for lithium ion diffusion and electron transport,but also strengthens polysulfide immobilization during the lithium/sulfur conversion reactions.As a result,the 3DCF@S with high sulfur content of 90%exhibits a high capacity of 1366 mA h/g at 0.1 C and excellent cycling stability with a satisfactory capacity of 601 mA h/g after 600 cycles at 2.0 C.The resultant Li-S button battery based 3DCF@S electrode could power a light-emitting diode for 2 h.The acquired 3DCF@S is expected to be widely used in Li-S batteries and this study will promote developments of carbon/sulfur composites for Li-S batteries.