Homogeneously Dispersed Silver Nanoparticles in EVA Laminating Film for Efficiency Enhancement of Silicon Photovoltaic Cells

We present a simple yet high-throughput approach for placing homogeneously dispersed silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) onto the top surface of a photovoltaic cell which can improve power conversion efficiency of a photovoltaic cell. Our system is realized in two major steps: i) fabricating a AgNP-dispersed ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) thin film from a AgNP/EVA mixture and ii) subsequently laminating the top surface of the photovoltaic cell by using the film. To achieve good dispersion of the AgNPs, a maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MAH) is added to the AgNP/EVA mixtures as a compatibilizer. Owing to the good AgNPs dispersion, the obtained thin film shows an extremely high light scattering, thus enhancing the power conversion efficiency of the resulting photovoltaic cell. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]