02243nas a2200229 4500008004100000022001400041245008800055210006900143260000800212300001400220490000600234520150700240653001901747653001601766653001601782653002401798653001601822100001901838700002101857700001901878856011601897 2020 eng d a2574-096200aReduction of trap and polydispersity in mutually passivated quantum dot solar cells0 aReduction of trap and polydispersity in mutually passivated quan cSEP a8903-89110 v33 a

Control over surface passivation is a key to manage the optoelectronic properties in low-dimensional nanomaterials because of their high surface-to-volume ratios. Tunable band gap quantum dots (QDs) are a potential building block for the development of optoelectronic devices like solar cells, photodetectors, and light-emitting diodes. Long and insulating surface ligands of colloidally synthesized QDs are exchanged by short ligands to attain compact arrangement in thin films to facilitate the charge transport process. However, the ligand exchange process often resulted in reduced surface passivation, inhomogeneous QD fusion, and deterioration of energy band gap, which adversely impact their performance in solar cells. Here, we introduce a surface passivation strategy where the QDs are mutually passivated by the organic ligand 3-methyl mercapto propionate and inorganic halometallate ligands to develop a conducting QD ink. The mutually passivated QDs (MPQDs) show significant improvement in optoelectronic properties in maintaining the trap-free energy band gap and size monodispersity. The photovoltaic performance of MPQDs shows a 33% average increase in power conversion efficiency (PCE) over the conventional halometallate passivation to attain 9.6% PCE in MPQD solar cells. The improvements in photovoltaic parameters are corroborated by the reduction in density of the intermediate trap states and an increase in depletion width and diffusion length in MPQD-based solar cells.

10apolydispersity10aquantum dot10asolar cells10asurface passivation10atrap states1 aSharma, Ashish1 aMahajan, Chandan1 aRath, Arup, K. uhttp://library.ncl.res.in/content/reduction-trap-and-polydispersity-mutually-passivated-quantum-dot-solar-cells02679nas a2200241 4500008004100000022001400041245009400055210006900149260000900218300001600227490000700243520189100250653002202141653001902163653001602182653001602198653002402214653001602238100002102254700001902275700001902294856012402313 2020 eng d a1944-824400aSolution-phase hybrid passivation for efficient infrared-band gap quantum dot solar cells0 aSolutionphase hybrid passivation for efficient infraredband gap  cNOV  a49840-498480 v123 a

The broad tunability of the energy band gap through size control makes colloidal quantum dots (QDs) promising for the development of photovoltaic devices. Large-size lead sulfide (PbS) QDs, exhibiting a narrow energy band gap, are particularly interesting as they can be used to augment perovskite and c-Si solar cells due to their complementary NIR absorption. However, their complex surface chemistry makes them difficult to process for the development of solar cells. The shape of the QDs transformed from octahedron to cuboctahedron as their size increases, a phenomenon guided by surface energy minimization. As a result, the surface properties change drastically for large-size QDs, which exhibit nonpolar (200) facets and polar (111) facets, as opposed to only (111) facets in small-size QDs. Recent advancements in solution-phase surface passivation strategies, used for the development of high-performance solar cells using the small size and wide band gap QDs, failed to translate a similar enhancement in the case of large-size and narrow band gap QDs. Here, we report a hybrid passivation strategy for large-size and narrow band gap QDs to passivate both (111) and (200) facets, respectively, using inorganic lead triiodide (PbI3-) and organic 3-chloro-1-propanethiol (CPT). By employing charge balance calculation, we identified the desired narrow band gap for QDs to complement the perovskite and c-Si absorption. The distinct choice of the organic ligand CPT enhances the colloidal stability of QDs in the solution phase and improves surface passivation to stop QD fusion in solid films. Photophysical properties show narrower excitonic and emission peaks and a reduction in the Stokes shift. Hybrid passivation leads to a 94% increase in the power conversion efficiency of solar cells and a 74% increase in the external quantum efficiency at the excitonic peak.

10ainfrared band gap10apolydispersity10aquantum dot10asolar cells10asurface passivation10atrap states1 aMahajan, Chandan1 aSharma, Ashish1 aRath, Arup, K. uhttp://library.ncl.res.in/content/solution-phase-hybrid-passivation-efficient-infrared-band-gap-quantum-dot-solar-cells02122nas a2200265 4500008004100000022001400041245007200055210006900127260000800196490000700204520129400211653002501505653001801530653001801548653001701566653001601583653002401599100002101623700002301644700002001667700001901687700002901706700001901735856010201754 2023 eng d a2194-428800aMulti-bandgap quantum dots ensemble for near-infrared photovoltaics0 aMultibandgap quantum dots ensemble for nearinfrared photovoltaic cJUN0 v113 a

Narrow bandgap quantum dots (QDs) are an important class of materials for near-infrared (NIR) optoelectronic devices owing to their size-tunable bandgap and chemical root processing. In photovoltaic applications, NIR QDs could be particularly useful to complement the sub-bandgap transmission loss of NIR solar radiation from perovskite and c-Si solar cells. However, insufficient carrier extraction thickness associated with the narrow NIR excitonic bandwidth of QDs limits the conversion efficacy of the broad NIR solar spectrum. Here, we utilize a multi-bandgap QD ensemble which widens the NIR absorption bandwidth to mimic the broad solar spectrum. A solution-phase ligand passivation strategy is used to control doping properties and energy level alignment of multi-bandgap QDs. We successfully developed bulk-heterojunction solar cells using the multi-bandgap QD ensemble, which yields higher carrier extraction thickness and broader NIR absorption. The gain from NIR absorption and carrier transport resulted in higher short-circuit current generation and power conversion efficiency (PCE) in solar cell devices. The champion device shows 8.73% PCE under 1.5 AM solar illumination and 7.44% and 5.05% PCE for the NIR photons transmitted from perovskite and c-Si layers.

10abulk-heterojunctions10amulti-bandgap10anear-infrared10aquantum dots10asolar cells10asurface passivation1 aMahajan, Chandan1 aDambhare, Neha, V.1 aBiswas, Arindam1 aSharma, Anjali1 aShinde, Dipak, Dattatray1 aRath, Arup, K. uhttp://library.ncl.res.in/content/multi-bandgap-quantum-dots-ensemble-near-infrared-photovoltaics