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Facile synthesis of porous CuS film as a high efficient counter electrode for quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells

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Abstract

In this paper, porous CuS film has been successfully prepared by a facile method and employed as a counter electrode (CE) in quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) for its highest catalytic activity. This CuS thin film was deposited on FTO substrate via spin coating process which is simple to operate, and its electrochemical properties were further studied by EIS and Tafel measurement. With the cycling time of depositing CuS up to 8, it displays high electrocatalytic activity toward polysulfide reduction, rationalizing the improved QDSSCs performance. Using the CdS/CdSe-sensitized QDSSCs, the cells exhibit improved short-circuit photocurrent density (J sc) and fill factor (FF), achieving solar cell conversion efficiency (η) as high as 5.60 % under AM 1.5 illumination of 100 mW cm−2. This work provides a novel and simple method for the preparation of CEs, which could be utilized in other metal sulfides CEs for QDSSCs.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. JB - ZR1137).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Material Science and Engineering, Engineering Research Center of Environment-Friendly Functional Materials for Ministry of Education, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, 361021, Fujian, People’s Republic of China

    Yibing Lin, Yu Lin, Jihuai Wu, Xiaolong Zhang & Biaopeng Fang

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  1. Yibing Lin
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  2. Yu Lin
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  3. Jihuai Wu
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  4. Xiaolong Zhang
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  5. Biaopeng Fang
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Correspondence to Yu Lin.

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Lin, Y., Lin, Y., Wu, J. et al. Facile synthesis of porous CuS film as a high efficient counter electrode for quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells. Appl. Phys. A 122, 609 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-016-0140-6

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