TiO2 mesoporous film thickness and porosity were optimized for better quantum dot distribution to enhance the performance of CdS/CdSe quantum dot co-sensitized solar cells. CdS and CdSe quantum dots were prepared onto TiO2 mesoporous film through successive ion layer absorption and reaction (SILAR) and chemical bath deposition (CBD), respectively. The distribution of quantum dots was inhomogeneous from the surface to the interior of the TiO2 film, being mainly concentrated at the upper layer. As a result, simply increasing film thickness didn't make a significant contribution to improving solar cell efficiency since only a small portion of quantum dots can access the film interior, leading to exposure of TiO2 nanoparticles in electrolyte and reducing the electron lifetime due to increased charge recombination rate. The efficiency reached its maximum, ~4.62%, with a TiO2 film thickness of 11 mm, and porosity was optimized by adding 12 wt% ethyl cellulose during TiO2 film preparation.

CdS/CdSe quantum dot co-sensitized solar cells

245th National Meeting (2013)

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