Ecofriendly high-performance low-cost Cu<sub>2</sub>ZnSnSe<sub>4</sub> solar cells: Experimental characterization and SCAPS-1D simulation

Boukhelkhal F. A., Selmane N., Cheknane A., Noureddine M., Zoukel A., Baydoğan N., ...Daha Fazla

CHEMICAL PHYSICS, cilt.601, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 601
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.chemphys.2025.112952
  • Dergi Adı: CHEMICAL PHYSICS
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, INSPEC
  • Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe) is a promising low-cost and ecofriendly p-type semiconductor for solar cells. However, CZTSe solar cells are have shortcomings, as they typically involve hazardous CdS-buffer layers. Costly dopant elements Ag and/or Ge are also normally used. This study aims at producing efficient, ecofriendly and low-cost solar cells. The Cd-, Ag- and Ge-free configuration metal/MoSe2/CZTSe/ZnSe/i-ZnO/ZnO-Al/metal is proposed. CZTSe film is prepared by the facile and low-cost sol-gel method, and characterized by elemental analysis, optical-absorption spectra, surface morphology, surface profiling and wettability. The cell is simulated by SCAPS1D. Optimal CZTSe-layer thickness is 2.5 mu m with optimized doping concentration 5 x 1016 cm- 3. With these parameters, the cell exhibits an open-circuit potential 0.56 V, a short-circuit potential 47.33 mA/cm2 and a fill factor 73.82 %. With a cell conversion efficiency 19.5 %, the proposed cell outperforms earlier CZTSe cells in terms of cost and environmental friendliness. This opens new research inroads toward improved CZTSe-based solar cells.