Thermal and Electrical Analyses of Organometallic Halide Solar Cells

Abstract

For organometallic halide solar cells (OHSC), it is expected that their performance in hot climates is to be challenged by high operating temperature conditions typical of these regions. This study explores, for the first time, the performance of formamidinium tin iodide (FASnI3) solar cells under variations of seasonal and climatic conditions in Nigeria using a non-steady- state thermal model. From the thermal analysis, results show that the air temperature in the location of the solar cell under study played a significant role in the increase and decrease of the rate of the overall heat transfer coefficient of the OHSC. However, the cell temperature depended on the rate of heat loss and the solar radiation absorbed by the OHSC. The electrical analysis was based on the numerical simulation of a FASnI3 solar cell with the aid of a Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS). A decrease in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) as the cell temperature increased was observed. Overall, while the OHSC suffered losses in efficiency in all locations during the hot season, the wet season saw an improvement in the PCE, especially in Twon-Brass (0.5% increase) where the most heat loss and least insolation were recorded. This shows that the power conversion efficiency of an operating OHSC is temperature-dependent, rather than the abundance of solar irradiance.