Study of functional coatings based on polyvinyl butyral and silver nanoparticles for solar cells

The high cost of solar cells prevents the widespread use of solar energy in the world. The work is devoted to the problems of obtaining and studying the properties of thin films applicable as antireflection coatings in the manufacture of solar cells. In this work, coatings of polyvinyl butyral with silver nanoparticles on the surface of $\alpha$-Si:H solar cells were obtained. The method of extracting the solution from the cuvette used in the work is simple and does not require highly qualified specialists. Using optical spectroscopy, it was found that the introduction of Ag nanoparticles into polyvinyl butyral films leads to the appearance of an absorption band in the region of 420-450 nm, associated with plasmon resonance of nanosilver. Using infrared spectroscopy, it was determined that with an increase in the concentration of silver nanoparticles in coatings, the valence peaks - CO decrease. The main characteristics of solar cells before and after application are measured. It was found that solar cells with deposited polyvinyl butyral films with silver nanoparticles at a concentration of 12 mmol/l have a short circuit current value of 10% more on average than similar solar cells without deposited films.The results of this work may have some practical value for single, polycrystalline, cascade solar cells. It is known that an increase in the efficiency of all solar cells available in the world, at least by 1%, can give an additional 5 GW of power and more than 10 MW for Russia.