Facile and Novel Chemical Synthesis, Characterization, and Formation Mechanism of Copper Sulfide (Cu₂S, Cu₂S/CuS, CuS) Nanostructures for Increasing the Efficiency of Solar Cells

Abstract

This paper reports the successful synthesis of various copper sulfide nanostructures via coprecipitation and hydrothermal routes using new starting reagents such as Na2SO3 as a reducing agent for converting Cu2+ to Cu+ and PMP dye–Cu­(II) and carminic acid–Cu­(II) complexes as new copper precursors for synthesizing quantum dots in aqueous medium. The as-synthesized products were extensively characterized by techniques including XRD, EDS, SEM, TEM, AFM, and DRS. Effects of different parameters such as temperature, surfactant, solvent, concentration, copper precursor, sulfide source, etc., on morphology and particle size of as-synthesized nanostructures were investigated. Moreover, the efficiency of various as-synthesized nanostructures in thin layer solar cells was evaluated. The results showed that particle size and morphology have a salient effect on solar cell efficiency. Also, utilizing prepared Cu2S quantum dots as a barrier layer in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) presented a remarkable increase in the efficiency of solar cells from 6.08% to 8.34% (∼37% improvement).

Electrochemical Fingerprint of CuS-Hexagonal Chemistry from (Bis(N-1,4-Phenyl-N-(4-Morpholinedithiocarbamato) Copper(II) Complexes) as Photon Absorber in Quantum-Dot/Dye-Sensitised Solar Cells

“…The displayed SEM micrographs corresponded to hexagonal and spherical nanoparticles with agglomeration for both samples, exhibiting a reasonably smooth surface with little microspheres. The shapes displayed in the image implied that CuS had a good crystal structure that provided a more catalytic reduction of the HI-30 electrolyte, and supports previous reports by [33,34].…”

Facile and eco‐benign synthesis of a novel MnFe2O4@SiO2@Au magnetic nanocomposite with antibacterial properties and enhanced photocatalytic activity under UV and visible‐light irradiations

“…Up to now, different researches have been made to preparation of nanomaterials and explore their application in various fields. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Nowadays, organic and dye contaminants are one of the most concern to the environment. [10][11][12][13][14][15] This pollutants and forms of destruction are toxic in nature which can have serious health consequences.…”

Novel Cu1‐xZnxS (x=0,0.01, …, 0.1) Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Spectroscopic Analysis, Photocatalytic and Anticancer Activities

“…Morphology of particles and their grains size was investigated by using FE‐SEM images (Figure ). The nanoparticles are almost polyhedral . Their distributions were shown in figure 2 which are normalized by a blue curved line.…”

“…The nanoparticles are almost polyhedral. [35] Their distributions were shown in figure 2 which are normalized by a blue curved line. Synoptically images of nanoparticles are parallel with each other and somewhat the size of nanoparticles in doped products is relatively increased.…”