Boosting the efficiency of quantum dot sensitized solar cells up to 7.11% through simultaneous engineering of photocathode and photoanode

Abstract

L. (2015). Boosting the efficiency of quantum dot sensitized solar cells up to 7.11% through simultaneous engineering of photocathode and photoanode. Nano Energy, 13 609-619.Boosting the efficiency of quantum dot sensitized solar cells up to 7.11% through simultaneous engineering of photocathode and photoanode AbstractWe demonstrate a new strategy of boosting the efficiency of quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) by engineering the photocathode and photoanode simultaneously. Nanostructured photocathodes based on non-stoichiometric Cu 2-x Se electrocatalysts were developed via a simple and scalable approach for CdS/CdSe QDs co-sensitized solar cells. Compared to Cu 2 S CE, remarkably improved photovoltaic performance was achieved for QDSSCs with Cu 2-x Se CEs. The superior catalytic activity and electrical conductivity of Cu 2-x Se CEs were verified by the electrochemical impedance spectra and Tafel-polarization measurements. To maximize the efficiency enhancement, the photoanodes were optimized by introducing a pillared porous titania composite as the scattering layers for further light harvesting and charge transfer improvement concurrently. The combination of effective Cu 2-x Se electrocatalysts and pillared titania scattering layers contributed to one of the best reported efficiencies of 7.11% for CdS/CdSe QDs co-sensitized solar cells.Keywords sensitized, dot, quantum, efficiency, boosting, cells, up, solar, 7, photoanode, 11, simultaneous, engineering, photocathode Disciplines Engineering | Physical Sciences and Mathematics Publication DetailsBai, Y., Han, C., Chen, X., Yu, H., Zong, X., Li, Z. & Wang, L. (2015). Boosting the efficiency of quantum dot sensitized solar cells up to 7.11% through simultaneous engineering of photocathode and photoanode. Nano Energy, 13 609-619. Authors Abstract:We demonstrate a new strategy of boosting the efficiency of quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) by engineering the photocathode and photoanode simultaneously.Nanostructured photocathodes based on non-stoichiometric Cu 2-x Se electrocatalysts were developed via a simple and scalable approach for CdS/CdSe QDs co-sensitized solar cells.Compared to Cu 2 S CE, remarkably improved photovoltaic performance was achieved forQDSSCs with Cu 2-x Se CEs. The superior catalytic activity and electrical conductivity of Cu 2-x Se CEs were verified by the electrochemical impedance spectra and Tafel-polarization measurements. To maximize the efficiency enhancement, the photoanodes were optimized by introducing a pillared porous titania composite as the scattering layers for further light harvesting and charge transfer improvement concurrently. The combination of effective Cu 2-x Se electrocatalysts and pillared titania scattering layers contributed to one of the best reported efficiencies of 7.11% for CdS/CdSe QDs co-sensitized solar cells.

Metal chalcogenides as counter electrode materials in quantum dot sensitized solar cells: a perspective

“…15 QDSSCs, similar in principle but replacing dyes by quantum dots (QDs) as light harvesting sensitizers, are considered superior because of the interesting optoelectronic properties of QDs. [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Different quantum dot synthesis and sensitization methods [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] , including chemical bath deposition (CBD), successive ionic absorption and reaction (SILAR), direct absorption (DA), linker assisted absorption, electro deposition and atom layer deposition (ALD) etc., were developed, aiming to obtain QDs with superior opto-and electro-chemical properties. 16 It confines the electron-hole pair in all three dimensions.…”

“…Specifically, Cu 1.8 S has a favorable stability while PbSe was partly oxidized to PbO and SeO 2 due to its instability under air. The superior property of the copper selenide CEs, together with their unique porous titania nanohybrids photoelectrode structure, boosted the PCE of QDSSC up to 7.11% 21. Se, compared to PbSe, had better catalytic ability and electrochemical stability when functioning in the polysulfide electrolyte.…”

Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Performances in Flexible Mesoscopic Solar Cells: An Effective Light‐Scattering Material

“…For the conventional DSCs on glass substrates, a high temperature (ca. 500 °C) sintering process forms necking areas, in other words chemical bonding, between neighbouring nanoparticles through diffusion . This allows a film to be built up to 20 μm in thickness with a reliable mechanical stability for DSC devices operation.…”

“…A small proportion (ca. 20 %) of 18 nm nanoparticles was generally applied to improve interparticle connection and “cement” the large particles into a whole piece by forming mechanically stable chemical bonding through high‐temperature sintering at approximately 450–500 °C . This technique is effective and has been extensively used on glass substrates based conventional DSCs.…”

3D Cu-doped CoS porous nanosheet films as superior counterelectrodes for quantum dot-sensitized solar cells

“…Quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs) are regarded as a promising alternative to dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), due to their low cost, acceptable photovoltaic conversion efficiency, tunable band gaps, and high molar extinction coefficient [1][2][3][4]. Similar to the cell structure of DSCs, QDSCs consist of a quantum-dot-sensitized semiconductor photoelectrode, a redox polysulfide electrolyte solution, and a noble-metal counterelectrode (CE).…”