Enhanced performance of monocrystalline silicon solar cells using sol-gel synthesized zinc stannate anti-reflective coating via electro-spraying technique

The current situation necessitates advancements in renewable energy to serve as a viable alternative to traditional energy sources. The photovoltaic cells can entirely change the need for fossil fuels since they can transform light energy into electrical energy. The reflection loss in photovoltaic cells is a contributing factor to reduced power conversion efficiency that could be mitigated by using antireflective coatings on the surface of the solar cells. This study examines the deposition of zinc stannate (ZnSnO₃) as an efficient antireflective material to improve light capturing capability and it is synthesized by sol-gel method. The electro spraying method was employed to deposit the ZnSnO₃ layers on photovoltaic cells. The ZnSnO₃ AR material was uniformly distributed on the solar substrate at 2 ml/h for 1 h (Z1), 2 h (Z2), 3 h (Z3) and 4 h (Z4) respectively. The impact of ZnSnO₃ ARC on the structural, electrical, absorbance, reflectance characteristics and temperature variation in monocrystalline silicon (m-Si) solar cells was examined. The optical properties were determined by UV–visible spectroscopy technique. At a wavelength (300–800 nm), the ZnSnO₃ coated for 3 h (Z3 specimen) exhibited highest absorbance of 92.65 % and the lowest electrical resistivity of 3.69 × 10⁻³ Ω-cm. When compared with bare and various ZnSnO₃ coated cells, Z3 specimen showed a significant impact on solar cell efficiency. In direct solar radiation and stimulated light, the Z3 specimen achieved the maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.16 % and 25.11 %. The findings indicated that ZnSnO₃ could be a suitable AR coating material for reducing incoming photon reflection.