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A Hierarchically Organized Photoelectrode Architecture for Highly Efficient CdS/CdSe‐Sensitized Solar Cells
Author(s) -
Park Jong Hoon,
Kim Dong Hoe,
Shin Seong Sik,
Han Hyun Soo,
Lee Myeong Hwan,
Jung Hyun Suk,
Noh Jun Hong,
Hong Kug Sun
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
advanced energy materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.08
H-Index - 220
eISSN - 1614-6840
pISSN - 1614-6832
DOI - 10.1002/aenm.201300395
Subject(s) - materials science , semiconductor , nanotechnology , substrate (aquarium) , chemical bath deposition , tin oxide , pulsed laser deposition , chemical engineering , mesoporous material , solar cell , optoelectronics , doping , thin film , catalysis , oceanography , biochemistry , chemistry , engineering , geology
A form of photoelectrode architecture suitable for inorganic semiconductor solar cells is reported. The developed architecture consists of hierarchically organized TiO 2 nanostructures with several tens of nanometer‐sized particles that have a large surface area and open channels with several hundred‐nanometer‐gaps perpendicular to the substrate. These are tailored by controlling the kinetic energy of the ablated species during pulsed laser deposition (PLD). To fabricate the solar cells, CdS and CdSe inorganic sensitizers are assembled onto the architecture by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction and polysulfide solution is used as an electrolyte with lead sulfide counter‐electrodes. The inorganic semiconductor solar cells using the developed architecture (PLD‐TiO 2 ) show high energy conversion efficiencies of 5.57% compared to a conventional mesoporous TiO 2 film(NP‐TiO 2 ) (3.84%) with an optical mask at 1 sun of illumination. The improved cell performance of PLD‐TiO 2 is attributed to greater light‐harvesting ability, which results in the enhancement of the J sc value. PLD‐TiO 2 absorbs more CdS/CdSe because of its larger surface area and excellent adhesion properties with fluorine‐doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates. Additionally, due to its unique channel‐shaped architecture, PLD‐TiO 2 has a longer electron lifetime compared to NP‐TiO 2 .