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Bonding-Enabled Interfacial Reconstruction at Buried Interface for High-Efficiency Sb2Se3 Solar Cells
Shuwei Sheng1, Junjie Yang1, Jianyu Li1
1Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences At the Microscale, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion Materials, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|May 24, 2026
Summary
Researchers improved antimony selenide solar cells by acid-treating the cadmium sulfide layer. This enhanced interface quality, promoting better antimony selenide growth and reducing defects, leading to a 9.74% power conversion efficiency.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Photovoltaics
- Semiconductor Physics
Background:
- Antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) is a promising photovoltaic material due to its excellent optoelectronic properties and stability.
- Sb2Se3 solar cells face challenges with poor interfacial contact and recombination losses, hindering efficiency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an acid-activated interfacial reconstruction strategy for improving the CdS/Sb2Se3 interface in solar cells.
- To enhance the quality of the buried interface and mitigate recombination losses.
Main Methods:
- HCl post-treatment was applied to the cadmium sulfide (CdS) film.
- Surface characteristics of CdS were analyzed to understand interfacial changes.
- Antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) was deposited via thermal evaporation (TE).
Main Results:
- HCl treatment improved CdS surface uniformity and reduced sulfate species.
- Enhanced Sb-S bonding at the interface promoted oriented Sb2Se3 growth.
- Achieved preferred [hk1] orientation in Sb2Se3 and reduced selenium vacancies.
- Suppressed non-radiative recombination and improved carrier transport.
Conclusions:
- Acid-activated interfacial reconstruction is an effective strategy for optimizing Sb2Se3 solar cells.
- The method leads to improved interfacial properties and enhanced device performance.
- A champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.74% was achieved.
