(Photo)electrochemical investigations on spray deposited n-Sb2S3 thin film/polyiodide/C photoelectrochemical solar cells

Sb2S3 thin films have been prepared by spraying the mixture of non-aqueous equimolar solutions of antimony trichloride [SbCl3] and thiourea [CS(NH2)(2)] in acetic acid (glacial) onto fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrates. The cell configuration n-Sb2S3/0.5M (KCL + KI) + 0.01M I-2/C is used for studying the current-voltage (I-V characteristics in dark and light, photovoltaic output, spectral response, photoresponse and photovoltaic rise and decay characteristics. The studies reveal that the Sb2S3 thin films are n-type in conductivity Using the Butler model, the optical band gap and minority carrier diffusion length (L-p) are found to be 1.73 eV and 0.033 mu m, respectively. The junction quality factor in dark (n(d)) and light (n(i)), series and shunt resistance (R-s and R-sh), fill factor (FF) and efficiency (eta) for the cell have been estimated. The measured FF and eta of the cell are 59.5 and 0.30%, respectively. Annealing and etching are found to improve the photoelectrochemical performance of the PEC cell. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A, All nights reserved.