AgNWs–PSS as a Passivating Interlayer Material with Local Nanowire Conduction for Silicon Solar Cells

Abstract The preparation of high-performance passivating interlayer materials with low-cost strategies is critically important for the development of silicon solar cells. Herein, a PSS/silver nanowire composite film (AgNWs–PSS) was synthesized by a solution-based method, which possesses superior electrical conductivity and passivation performance simultaneously. The conductivity of the film was optimized through the process of annealing, which resulted in a sheet resistance of approximately 40 Ω/□. At the optimal concentration (1 wt %), the minority carrier lifetime on the silicon surface was increased by approximately 3.3 times. The study shows that by adjusting the rotation speed to optimize film thickness and uniformity, the average photovoltaic conversion efficiency of the optimized devices reached 12.42 ± 1.1% (with a maximum efficiency of 13.5% for a single cell). In addition, efficiency improvements of at least 5% were observed at other concentrations.