Ag2S quantum dot sensitized zinc oxide photoanodes for environment friendly photovoltaic devices

Simple and a facile chemical solution strategy was utilized for the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and then Ag2S quantum dots (QDs) were deposited on the surface of ZnO NPs by a successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction deposition method. The formation of Ag2S QDs on ZnO films significantly improved the performance of quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSCs). The higher photoconversion efficiency, 2.41% was achieved for the ZnO-Ag2S 6-cycles photoanode which corresponds to an increase of 35% when compared with bare ZnO electrode. The improved photoconversion efficiency of the ZnO-Ag2S QDSCs is attributed to the Ag2S sensitization which broadened the absorption into visible light region and exhibits higher short-circuit current density (Jsc) values. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.