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Band Theory02:35

Band Theory

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When two or more atoms come together to form a molecule, their atomic orbitals combine and molecular orbitals of distinct energies result. In a solid, there are a large number of atoms, and therefore a large number of atomic orbitals that may be combined into molecular orbitals. These groups of molecular orbitals are so closely placed together to form continuous regions of energies, known as the bands.
The energy difference between these bands is known as the band gap.
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Buffers02:56

Buffers

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A solution containing appreciable amounts of a weak conjugate acid-base pair is called a buffer solution, or a buffer. Buffer solutions resist a change in pH when small amounts of a strong acid or a strong base are added. A solution of acetic acid and sodium acetate is an example of a buffer that consists of a weak acid and its salt: CH3COOH (aq) + CH3COONa (aq). An example of a buffer that consists of a weak base and its salt is a solution of ammonia and ammonium chloride: NH3 (aq) + NH4Cl...
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Buffers: Buffer Capacity01:09

Buffers: Buffer Capacity

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Buffer capacity is the quantitative measure of a buffer to resist the change in pH. As shown in the following equation, the buffer capacity, denoted by 'beta', is expressed as the number of moles of acid or base needed to change the pH of a one-liter buffer solution by 1 unit. Here, Ca and Cb indicate the number of moles of acid and base, respectively. Note that dpH represents the change in pH.
In the graph, pH is plotted as a function of the number of moles of base (Cb) added to a weak...
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Buffer Effectiveness02:19

Buffer Effectiveness

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Buffer solutions do not have an unlimited capacity to keep the pH relatively constant . Instead, the ability of a buffer solution to resist changes in pH relies on the presence of appreciable amounts of its conjugate weak acid-base pair. When enough strong acid or base is added to substantially lower the concentration of either member of the buffer pair, the buffering action within the solution is compromised.
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Protein Buffers in Blood Plasma and Cells01:20

Protein Buffers in Blood Plasma and Cells

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The human body utilizes protein buffer systems to maintain a stable pH. These systems capitalize on the dual role of amino acids, which can act as acids or bases by accepting or releasing hydrogen ions in response to pH changes. Protein buffer systems are particularly significant in the extracellular fluid (ECF) and intracellular fluid (ICF) of active cells, where structural and functional proteins provide substantial buffering capacity.
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Calculating pH Changes in a Buffer Solution02:45

Calculating pH Changes in a Buffer Solution

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A buffer can prevent a sudden drop or increase in the pH of a solution after the addition of a strong acid or base up to its buffering capacity; however, such addition of a strong acid or base does result in the slight pH change of the solution. The small pH change can be calculated by determining the resulting change in the concentration of buffer components, i.e., a weak acid and its conjugate base or vice versa. The concentrations obtained using these stoichiometric calculations can be used...
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Improvement in Sb2Se3 Solar Cell Efficiency through Band Alignment Engineering at the Buffer/Absorber Interface.

Gang Li1, Zhiqiang Li1, Xiaoyang Liang1

  • 1National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of New Energy Photoelectric Devices, College of Physics Science and Technology , Hebei University , Baoding 071002 , China.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|December 12, 2018
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Summary

Ternary cadmium-zinc sulfide (CdxZn1-xS) buffer layers enhance antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) solar cell efficiency by optimizing band alignment. This modification reduces interface recombination, boosting device performance.

Keywords:
CdxZn1−xS/Sb2Se3 heterojunctionSb2Se3band alignmentelectrochemical impedance spectroscopysubstrate configuration

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Renewable Energy
  • Semiconductor Physics

Background:

  • Energy band alignment is critical for efficient heterojunction thin-film solar cells.
  • Antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) is a promising material for thin-film solar applications.
  • Buffer layers significantly influence charge carrier dynamics and device performance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of ternary CdxZn1-xS buffer layers on Sb2Se3 thin-film solar cells.
  • To optimize the Cd/Zn element ratio for improved band alignment and device efficiency.
  • To understand the relationship between band structure and interfacial properties.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of Sb2Se3 thin-film solar cells with varying CdxZn1-xS buffer layer compositions.
  • Characterization of optical band gap and band alignment at the CdxZn1-xS/Sb2Se3 interface.
  • Performance evaluation of solar cells using current-voltage measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

Main Results:

  • Ternary CdxZn1-xS buffers modified both the optical band gap and band alignment at the junction.
  • An optimal conduction-band offset of 0.34 eV resulted in a solar cell efficiency of 6.71%, a 32.1% relative improvement over CdS.
  • A "spike"-like band structure was observed, which suppressed interface recombination, increasing open-circuit voltage and fill factor.
  • EIS analysis confirmed higher recombination resistance and longer carrier lifetime in CdxZn1-xS/Sb2Se3 devices compared to CdS/Sb2Se3 devices.

Conclusions:

  • Ternary CdxZn1-xS buffer layers are effective in enhancing Sb2Se3 solar cell performance.
  • Optimizing band alignment through buffer layer composition is a viable strategy for improving solar cell efficiency.
  • The "spike"-like band structure plays a crucial role in reducing interfacial recombination losses.