E-Thesis 212 views 223 downloads
Optimisation and Exploration of Inkjet Printing in Triple Mesoscopic Perovskite Cells / ALICE ARMSTRONG
Swansea University Author: ALICE ARMSTRONG
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Copyright: The Author, Alice Eleanor Bridget Armstrong, 2025
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Abstract
Silicon is used as the key component in commercial Photovoltaic Cell fabrication today. It has enabled the production of efficient, stable devices with power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of around 25% and a serviceable lifetime of up to 25 years. [1] To achieve theseresults the Silicon has to be pu...
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Swansea University, Wales, UK
2025
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Master of Research |
| Degree name: | MSc by Research |
| Supervisor: | Meroni, S., and Watson, T. |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69352 |
| Abstract: |
Silicon is used as the key component in commercial Photovoltaic Cell fabrication today. It has enabled the production of efficient, stable devices with power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of around 25% and a serviceable lifetime of up to 25 years. [1] To achieve theseresults the Silicon has to be pure without structural defects making them expensive to produce.Perovskite offers a potentially more flexible and easy to produce alternative that is more tolerant to imperfections and impurities. Perovskites need to be ultra-thin to enhance performance, and recent lab based PCEs approaching those of silicon have been achieved. The main drawback has been the long-term stability due to reaction of the perovskite with water making them sensitive to moisture ingress and humidity. This has been addressed bythe carbon stack printable cell geometry used in this research. This uses readily available materials – TiO2 and ZrO2 – that can be screen-printed to create the stack and has the additional advantage that they do not require expensive hole transport materials such as spiro-OMeTAD. This research builds on the carbon stack cell geometry and explores the feasibility of using inkjet printing for the deposition of the perovskite into the cell, which would assist in facilitating the upscaling of production from the manual methods used in lab research. It also explores the potential of non-hazardous precursor inks which would additionally contribute to the safety and a reduction in the cost of production.To create the cell the perovskite has to infiltrate all layers of the carbon stack which requires optimisation of the droplet deposition parameters used in the inkjet-printing method. This research used the SUSS LP50 inkjet printer to determine the optimum characteristics of ink droplet deposition, and printer runs to create the best PCE for the cells. It also varied theconcentrations and viscosity of the two inks studied –γ-butyrolactone (GBL) and γ-valerolactone (GVL) a less toxic substitute for GBL to produce results.This research shows that the inkjet deposition of the perovskite into the carbon stackgeometry can reliably produce cells with PCE of over 10%, it has also shown that the green alternative solvent GVL does not compromise the efficiency of the cell. Both of these novel approaches offer a promising way forward to commercial fabrication of large, safe, stable and efficient perovskite solar cells. |
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| Item Description: |
A selection of content is redacted or is partially redacted from this thesis to protect sensitive and personal information. |
| Keywords: |
Mesoscopic, Perovskite, Inkjet |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |