Emerging Binary Chalcogenide Light Absorbers: Material Specific Promises and Challenges

In the quest for higher efficiency and lower cost solar energy conversion devices, new light absorber materials are being intensively researched. With their attractive optical electrical properties, metal chalcogenide have emerged as promising candidates these next-generation absorbers. this review, we survey studies on absorbers having a simple binary composition, namely, Cu2S, SnS, GeSe, WSe2, Sb2S3, Sb2Se3. Each material has its own unique strengths weaknesses in terms of cost, abundance, optoelectronic secondary phase formation, anisotropic carrier transport, defect properties. After critical consideration scrutinize recently developed strategies overcoming specific challenges while presenting future perspectives each material.