Colloidal Lithography for Photovoltaics: An Attractive Route for Light Management
The pursuit of ever-more efficient, reliable, and affordable solar cells has pushed the development of nano/micro-technological solutions capable of boosting photovoltaic (PV) performance without significantly increasing costs. One of the most relevant solutions is based on light management via phot...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/7/1665 |
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| author | Rui D. Oliveira Ana Mouquinho Pedro Centeno Miguel Alexandre Sirazul Haque Rodrigo Martins Elvira Fortunato Hugo Águas Manuel J. Mendes |
| author_facet | Rui D. Oliveira Ana Mouquinho Pedro Centeno Miguel Alexandre Sirazul Haque Rodrigo Martins Elvira Fortunato Hugo Águas Manuel J. Mendes |
| author_sort | Rui D. Oliveira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The pursuit of ever-more efficient, reliable, and affordable solar cells has pushed the development of nano/micro-technological solutions capable of boosting photovoltaic (PV) performance without significantly increasing costs. One of the most relevant solutions is based on light management via photonic wavelength-sized structures, as these enable pronounced efficiency improvements by reducing reflection and by trapping the light inside the devices. Furthermore, optimized microstructured coatings allow self-cleaning functionality via effective water repulsion, which reduces the accumulation of dust and particles that cause shading. Nevertheless, when it comes to market deployment, nano/micro-patterning strategies can only find application in the PV industry if their integration does not require high additional costs or delays in high-throughput solar cell manufacturing. As such, colloidal lithography (CL) is considered the preferential structuring method for PV, as it is an inexpensive and highly scalable soft-patterning technique allowing nanoscopic precision over indefinitely large areas. Tuning specific parameters, such as the size of colloids, shape, monodispersity, and final arrangement, CL enables the production of various templates/masks for different purposes and applications. This review intends to compile several recent high-profile works on this subject and how they can influence the future of solar electricity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:55:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f0297d57922740ed9440fbaaaf5529ba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:55:37Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj.art-f0297d57922740ed9440fbaaaf5529ba2023-12-03T13:06:18ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912021-06-01117166510.3390/nano11071665Colloidal Lithography for Photovoltaics: An Attractive Route for Light ManagementRui D. Oliveira0Ana Mouquinho1Pedro Centeno2Miguel Alexandre3Sirazul Haque4Rodrigo Martins5Elvira Fortunato6Hugo Águas7Manuel J. Mendes8CENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, PortugalCENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, PortugalCENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, PortugalCENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, PortugalCENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, PortugalCENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, PortugalCENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, PortugalCENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, PortugalCENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, PortugalThe pursuit of ever-more efficient, reliable, and affordable solar cells has pushed the development of nano/micro-technological solutions capable of boosting photovoltaic (PV) performance without significantly increasing costs. One of the most relevant solutions is based on light management via photonic wavelength-sized structures, as these enable pronounced efficiency improvements by reducing reflection and by trapping the light inside the devices. Furthermore, optimized microstructured coatings allow self-cleaning functionality via effective water repulsion, which reduces the accumulation of dust and particles that cause shading. Nevertheless, when it comes to market deployment, nano/micro-patterning strategies can only find application in the PV industry if their integration does not require high additional costs or delays in high-throughput solar cell manufacturing. As such, colloidal lithography (CL) is considered the preferential structuring method for PV, as it is an inexpensive and highly scalable soft-patterning technique allowing nanoscopic precision over indefinitely large areas. Tuning specific parameters, such as the size of colloids, shape, monodispersity, and final arrangement, CL enables the production of various templates/masks for different purposes and applications. This review intends to compile several recent high-profile works on this subject and how they can influence the future of solar electricity.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/7/1665colloidal lithographythin-film photovoltaicsphotonicslight-trappingself-cleaning |
| spellingShingle | Rui D. Oliveira Ana Mouquinho Pedro Centeno Miguel Alexandre Sirazul Haque Rodrigo Martins Elvira Fortunato Hugo Águas Manuel J. Mendes Colloidal Lithography for Photovoltaics: An Attractive Route for Light Management Nanomaterials colloidal lithography thin-film photovoltaics photonics light-trapping self-cleaning |
| title | Colloidal Lithography for Photovoltaics: An Attractive Route for Light Management |
| title_full | Colloidal Lithography for Photovoltaics: An Attractive Route for Light Management |
| title_fullStr | Colloidal Lithography for Photovoltaics: An Attractive Route for Light Management |
| title_full_unstemmed | Colloidal Lithography for Photovoltaics: An Attractive Route for Light Management |
| title_short | Colloidal Lithography for Photovoltaics: An Attractive Route for Light Management |
| title_sort | colloidal lithography for photovoltaics an attractive route for light management |
| topic | colloidal lithography thin-film photovoltaics photonics light-trapping self-cleaning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/7/1665 |
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