Formation of a selective emitter in crystalline silicon solar cells improves photovoltaic conversion efficiency by decoupling emitter regions for light absorption (moderately doped) and metallization (degenerately doped). However, use of a selective emitter in silicon nanowire (Si NW) solar cells is technologically challenging because of difficulties in forming robust Ohmic contacts that interf...

Metal oxide semiconductors are promising photoelectrode materials for solar water splitting due to their robustness in aqueous solutions and low cost. Yet, their solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiencies are still not high enough for practical applications. Here we present a strategy to enhance the efficiency of metal oxides, hetero-type dual photoelectrodes, in which two photoanodes of differe...

A solar-driven water-splitting cell is generally comprised of light absorbers, electrocatalysts, membrane separators and an electrolyte solution in a specic system geometry. The overall solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of such a system depends on the performance and materials properties of all the individual components as well as the design of the system. Signicant research efforts are...

[1] The most accurate value of total solar irradiance during the 2008 solar minimum period is 1360.8 ± 0.5 W m according to measurements from the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) on NASA’s Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) and a series of new radiometric laboratory tests. This value is significantly lower than the canonical value of 1365.4 ± 1.3 W m established in the 1990s, which en...

With latest experimental data the solar neutrino problem enters new phase when crucial aspects of the problem can be formulated in an essentially (solar) model independent way. Original neutrino fluxes can be considered as free parameters to be found from the solar neutrino experiments. Resonance flavour conversion gives the best fit of all experimental results. Already existing data allow one ...

Photoelectrochemical approach to solar energy conversion demands a kinetic optimization of various light-induced electron transfer processes. Of great importance are the redox mediator systems accomplishing the electron transfer processes at the semiconductor/electrolyte interface, therefore affecting profoundly the performance of various photoelectrochemical cells. Here, we develop a strategy-...

Understanding how to engineer nanomaterials for targeted solar-cell applications is the key to improving their efficiency and could lead to breakthroughs in their design. Proposed mechanisms for the conversion of solar energy to electricity are those exploiting the particle nature of light in conventional photovoltaic cells, and those using the collective electromagnetic nature, where light is ...

We present analytical simulations for the performance of nanocoaxial and -hemispherical drift-limited solar cells, to determine optimal geometrical configuration and to interpret results of experimental nanocoaxial solar cell arrays. The material system considered in these simulations is hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), with solar cells designed in an n–i–p stack. Simulations conducted ...

Most photovoltaic (solar) cells are made from crystalline silicon (c-Si), which has an indirect band gap. This gives rise to weak absorption of one-third of usable solar photons. Therefore, improved light trapping schemes are needed, particularly for c-Si thin film solar cells. Here, a photonic crystal-based light-trapping approach is analyzed and compared to previous approaches. For a solar ce...

in this investigation, ag@tio2 nanocomposite was prepared by deposition of silver nanoclusters onto commercial tio2 nanoparticles (known as p25 tio2) via photodeposition technique as clean and simple photochemical route. the synthesized ag@tio2 nanocomposite was utilized in the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cell (dssc) chiefly because, compared to pure tio2, the electron affinity of ag@ti...