An investigation of the impact of nafion polymer on surface passivation and analysis of degradation in HIT solar cells for improvement performance

The effectiveness of Heterojunction with an intrinsic thin layer (HIT) solar cell is greatly improved by using Nafion polymer to passivate the surface and reduce carrier recombination processes. The enhancement of high-efficiency solar cells has garnered considerable interest in surface passivation as a potential substitute due to their exceptional electrical properties. There is little research on the optical and electrical characteristics of different levels of Nafion concentration. The HIT solar cells were treated with varying Nafion-passivation concentrations (2.5 wt %, 5 wt %, 10 wt %). The most significant performance improvement is at a concentration of 2.5 wt% after degradation for 8 h. The open-circuit voltage (Voc) climbed to 735.05 mV, and the fill factor (FF) increased at + 3.49 %, followed by the increase of power conversion energy (PCE) at + 0.96 %, both showing a considerable increase compared to a cell made from an unaffected cell. Due to its ability to boost silicon solar cell performance, a low Nafion concentration is preferred. [Display omitted] •A new investigation of Nafion passivation on the HIT Cell at three different concentrations, 2.5 wt%, 5.0 wt%, and 10 wt%.•Examine the light-induced degradation of HIT solar cells with and without Nafion passivation for 8 h.•Nafion application improves the HIT solar cells' Fill Factor (FF) and Power Conversion Efficiency (PCE).•The 2.5 wt % concentration showed the highest performance gain, boosting FF and PCE by 3.49% and 0.96%, respectively.