Cu2S-deposited mesoporous NiO photocathode for a solar cell

The p-type Cu2S layer is deposited onto p-type mesoporous NiO electrode by spray pyrolysis deposition method using alcoholic solution of ethylenediamine-copper(II) complex and thiourea. A solar cell using Cu2S-deposited NiO mesoporous photocathode has been fabricated for the first time. The incident photon to current conversion efficiency (IPCE) values are found to be 0.8-1.8% for the newly designed NiO/Cu2S solar cell. It was shown that the p-type NiO/Cu2S structure could be successfully utilized to fabricate p-type solar cell and the possible mechanism for charge transfer is also discussed. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B. V.