Browsing by Author "Tambwe, Kevin"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Organic nanostructured materials for sustainable application in next generation solar cells
    (MPDI, 2021) Mabindisa, Rorisang; Tambwe, Kevin; Mciteka, Lulama
    Meeting our current energy demands requires a reliable and efficient renewable energy source that will bring balance between power generation and energy consumption. Organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs), perovskite solar cells and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are among the next-generation technologies that are progressing as potential sustainable renewable energy sources. Since the discoveries of highly conductive organic charge-transfer compounds in the 1950s, organic semiconductors have captured attention. Organic photovoltaic solar cells possess key characteristics ideal for emerging next-generation technologies such as being nontoxic, abundant, an inexpensive nanomaterial with ease of production, including production under ambient conditions. In this review article, we discuss recent methods developed towards improving the stability and average efficiency of nanostructured materials in OPVs aimed at sustainable agriculture and improve land-use efficiency. A comprehensive overview on developing cost-effective and user-friendly organic solar cells to contribute towards improved environmental stability is provided. We also summarize recent advances in the synthetic methods used to produce nanostructured active absorber layers of OPVs with improved efficiencies to supply the energy required towards ending poverty and protecting the planet
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    p- and e- type Semiconductor layers optimization for efficient perovskite photovoltaics
    (University of the Western Cape, 2019) Tambwe, Kevin; Ross, Natasha
    Perovskite solar cells have attracted a tremendous amount of research interest in the scientific community recently, owing to their remarkable performance reaching up to 22% power conversion efficiency (PCE) in merely 6 to 7 years of development. Numerous advantages such as reduced price of raw materials, ease of fabrication and so on, have contributed to their increased popularity. However, there are several factors that limits their performance, among which is recombination process of charge carriers occurring at the TiO2/Perovskite interface. Therefore, it is crucial to prevent charge carriers recombination at the photo anode/electrode interface, in order to improve the overall efficiency of the Perovskite solar cell (PSC) devices.
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    P- and e- type Semiconductor layers optimization for efficient perovskite photovoltaics
    (University of Western Cape, 2019) Tambwe, Kevin; Ross, Natasha; Baker, Priscilla
    Perovskite solar cells have attracted a tremendous amount of research interest in the scientific community recently, owing to their remarkable performance reaching up to 22% power conversion efficiency (PCE) in merely 6 to 7 years of development. Numerous advantages such as reduced price of raw materials, ease of fabrication and so on, have contributed to their increased popularity.