Influence of CdS sensitization on the photovoltaic performance of CdS:TiO2 solar cell

Abstract

Sensitization of the photoanode with the semiconductor quantum dot strongly affects the final performance of the device. In this work, the effect of the adsorption cycle of cadmium sulfide was analyzed for the CdS sensitizer on CdS:TiO2-based quantum dot-sensitized solar cell. The CdS sensitizer was grown on doctor blade-coated TiO2 films using successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. Porous, well adherent, and pin-hole-free TiO2 films were deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide-coated substrate. The structural, morphological, and compositional properties of TiO2 and CdS-sensitized TiO2 films were studied using UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The QDSSCs fabricated using CdS sensitizer onto TiO2 photoelectrode were tested for various adsorption cycles of CdS. The influence of various SILAR cycles of CdS sensitizers on the light-harvesting ability of the porous TiO2 photoelectrode and its subsequent highest power conversion efficiency for fabricated QDSSCs were investigated.