Ligand capping effect for dye solar cells with a CdSe quantum dot sensitized ZnO nanorod photoanode

We report a quantum dot sensitized solar cell (QDSSC) with a thioglycolic acid (TGA) capped CdSe quantum dot (QD) sensitized ZnO nanorod photoanode. As revealed by UV-Vis absorption spectrum and transmission electron microscopy, the quantum dots can be effectively adsorbed onto ZnO nanorods. By studying the emission decay, the quenching of the CdSe QDs by ZnO nanorod was verified, and an electron transfer (from QD to ZnO) rate constant of 1 x 10(8) s(-1) was obtained. The efficiency of the as-prepared QDSSC was 0.66% and an incident power conversion efficiency of 22% at 400 nm was achieved. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America