A review on PV cells and nanocomposite-coated PV systems

Solar radiation can be converted into electrical energy and generate electric power that can be utilized in multiple ways. The technological improvements have provided enormous solutions to the mankind for utilizing the solar energy although photovoltaic's (PV) by consuming sunlight. Photovoltaic is popularly known by the process of converting light to electricity. The current estimated growth by producing global power around 368 GW in 2017 and projecting 3000 to 10 000 GW by 2030. Looking at all the available solar cells, it has been observed that the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) when compared to mono-Si or poly-Si has been effective in its performance and also reduces production cost to a great extent. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of DSSC has reached to a better extent and been discussed in the paper. There are other mechanisms through which the efficiency can be improved like applying the antireflection coating. Reflection is a usual phenomenon that happens when light incident from one medium to another varies in refractive index. This reflection is one of the important reasons for the loss of power in the PV Cell. So to improve the PCE, the Mono-Si or DSSC PV Cells can be applied with a thin film antireflection coating by the nanocomposite film consisting of single- or multi-wall carbon nanotubes with TiO2 and other efficient nanoparticles. This paper discusses on different kinds of nanocomposite materials, and their functionalities has been clearly given. Remarkable improvements have been recorded in the last 1 year by applying the antireflection coating; the PCE has further been increased enormously when compared to the uncoated solar cell for both DSSC and Mono-Si PV cells.