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Journal of Advanced Ceramics 2023, 12(7): 1406-1417 https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2023.9220763
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 06 July 2023

Bandgap narrowing and polarization enhancement in (K,Na,Li)(Nb,Sb,Ta)O3+x% Fe2O3 lead-free ceramics for photovoltaic applications

Show Author's Information Jian Chena,  Jiaxing Maoa,  Zihui Wanga,  Yanhui Donga,  Jinming Guoa,  Mingkai Lia,  Yi Zhangb,  Yinmei Lua( ),  Yunbin Hea( )
Key Laboratory of Green Preparation and Application for Functional Materials, Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Lab of Ferro & Piezoelectric Materials and Devices, Hubei Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
Institute of Photoelectronic Thin Film Devices and Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Thin Film Devices and Technology, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
Keywords:
ferroelectrics, photovoltaic effect, bandgap (Eg), remanent polarization (Pr), [(K0.43Na0.57)0.94Li0.06] [(Nb0.94Sb0.06)0.95Ta0.05]O3 (KNLNST)
Cite this article:
Chen J, Mao J, Wang Z, et al. Bandgap narrowing and polarization enhancement in (K,Na,Li)(Nb,Sb,Ta)O3+x% Fe2O3 lead-free ceramics for photovoltaic applications. Journal of Advanced Ceramics, 2023, 12(7): 1406-1417. https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2023.9220763
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

The need for ferroelectric materials with both narrow bandgaps (Eg) and large remanent polarization (Pr) remains a key challenge to the development of high-efficiency ferroelectric photovoltaic (FPV) devices. In this work, [(K0.43Na0.57)0.94Li0.06][(Nb0.94Sb0.06)0.95Ta0.05]O3 (KNLNST)-based lead-free ceramics with narrow Eg and large Pr are obtained via Fe2O3 doping. By optimizing the level of Fe2O3 doping, a KNLNST+1.3% Fe2O3 ceramic is fabricated that simultaneously possesses a narrow Eg of 1.74 eV and a large Pr of 27.05 μC/cm2. These values are much superior to those of undoped KNLNST ceramics (Eg = 3.1 eV and Pr = 17.73 μC/cm2). While the large Pr stems from the increment of the volume ratio between the orthorhombic and tetragonal phases (VO/VT) in KNLNST ceramics by proper amount of Fe3+ doping, the narrow Eg is attributed to the coupling interaction between the Fe3+ dopants and the B-site Sb3+ host ions. Moreover, a switchable photovoltaic effect caused by the ferroelectric depolarization electric field (Edp) is observed in the KNLNST+1.3% Fe2O3 ceramic-based device. Thanks to the narrower Eg and larger Pr of the doped ceramic, the photovoltaic performance of the corresponding device (open-circuit voltage (Voc) = −5.28 V and short-circuit current density (Jsc) = 0.051 μA/cm2) under a downward poling state is significantly superior to that of an undoped KNLNST-based device (Voc = −0.46 V and Jsc = 0.039 μA/cm2). This work offers a feasible approach to developing ferroelectric materials with narrow bandgaps and large Pr for photovoltaic applications.


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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Bandgap narrowing and polarization enhancement in (K,Na,Li)(Nb,Sb,Ta)O3+x% Fe2O3 lead-free ceramics for photovoltaic applications

Show Author's information Jian Chena, Jiaxing Maoa, Zihui Wanga, Yanhui Donga, Jinming Guoa, Mingkai Lia, Yi Zhangb, Yinmei Lua( ), Yunbin Hea( )
Key Laboratory of Green Preparation and Application for Functional Materials, Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Lab of Ferro & Piezoelectric Materials and Devices, Hubei Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
Institute of Photoelectronic Thin Film Devices and Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Thin Film Devices and Technology, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China

Abstract

The need for ferroelectric materials with both narrow bandgaps (Eg) and large remanent polarization (Pr) remains a key challenge to the development of high-efficiency ferroelectric photovoltaic (FPV) devices. In this work, [(K0.43Na0.57)0.94Li0.06][(Nb0.94Sb0.06)0.95Ta0.05]O3 (KNLNST)-based lead-free ceramics with narrow Eg and large Pr are obtained via Fe2O3 doping. By optimizing the level of Fe2O3 doping, a KNLNST+1.3% Fe2O3 ceramic is fabricated that simultaneously possesses a narrow Eg of 1.74 eV and a large Pr of 27.05 μC/cm2. These values are much superior to those of undoped KNLNST ceramics (Eg = 3.1 eV and Pr = 17.73 μC/cm2). While the large Pr stems from the increment of the volume ratio between the orthorhombic and tetragonal phases (VO/VT) in KNLNST ceramics by proper amount of Fe3+ doping, the narrow Eg is attributed to the coupling interaction between the Fe3+ dopants and the B-site Sb3+ host ions. Moreover, a switchable photovoltaic effect caused by the ferroelectric depolarization electric field (Edp) is observed in the KNLNST+1.3% Fe2O3 ceramic-based device. Thanks to the narrower Eg and larger Pr of the doped ceramic, the photovoltaic performance of the corresponding device (open-circuit voltage (Voc) = −5.28 V and short-circuit current density (Jsc) = 0.051 μA/cm2) under a downward poling state is significantly superior to that of an undoped KNLNST-based device (Voc = −0.46 V and Jsc = 0.039 μA/cm2). This work offers a feasible approach to developing ferroelectric materials with narrow bandgaps and large Pr for photovoltaic applications.

Keywords: ferroelectrics, photovoltaic effect, bandgap (Eg), remanent polarization (Pr), [(K0.43Na0.57)0.94Li0.06] [(Nb0.94Sb0.06)0.95Ta0.05]O3 (KNLNST)

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Publication history

Received: 12 January 2023
Revised: 03 May 2023
Accepted: 04 May 2023
Published: 06 July 2023
Issue date: July 2023

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© The Author(s) 2023.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2019YFB1503500), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11975093, 11774082, and 52202132), the Hubei Province Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 2019CFA006), the Program for Science and Technology Innovation Team in Colleges of Hubei Province (Grant No. T201901), the Hubei International Cooperation Project (Grant Nos. 2021EHB005 and 2022EHB023), and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2021M701131).

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