Efficiency Enhancement and Life Cycle Assessment of 2D/3D Mixed-Dimensional Tin Perovskite Plasmonic Solar Cells

In this work, the impact of spherical silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on the performance of mixed-dimensional tin perovskite solar cells (Sn-PSCs) was explored using Silvaco 2D TCAD and Lumerical software. Embedding 10 nm spherical Ag NPs within the electron transport layer at the cathode interface led to an increase of 8.65% boost in photocurrent density (JPH) through a plasmonic effect, resulting in a maximum power conversion efficiency of 23.16%. However, the presence of metal NPs in the hole transport layer reduced the absorption efficiency of the active layer. Notably, our experiments revealed that the mixed-dimensional Sn PSCs (0.15 M phenylethylammonium iodide in precursor solution) displayed an average grain size of 257 nm, surpassing that of the 3D Sn PSCs by 48.55%. Additionally, XRD studies showed that these mixed-dimensional films exhibited a minimized full width at half-maximum value of 0.342° for the (100) perovskite plane, confirming superior crystallinity compared to other types of films. Furthermore, material and energy inventories have been developed for a tin perovskite solar module (Sn-PSM) embedded with Ag NPs, facilitating a comprehensive life cycle assessment. The total primary energy demand (TPED) for the development of Sn-PSM was estimated to be 643.98 MJ·m–2. The production of ITO glass contributes to nearly 37.09% of the TPED and is the major bottleneck for reducing the energy consumption. The deposition of PEDOT/PSS and FASnI3 (spin coating and annealing) accounted for 33.30 and 34.99% of the energy required, respectively, for module fabrication. The energy payback time has been predicted to be 0.53 years, which is lower by 34.57 and 75.90% compared to those of lead-based solar module (Pb-PSM) and c-Si solar modules, respectively. Furthermore, the greenhouse gas emission factor has been evaluated to be 0.07 kg-CO2·kW h–1, indicating substantial reductions by 36.36 and 77.85% when compared to those of Pb-PSM and c-Si solar modules, respectively.