Issue 46, 2015

One-pot synthesis of colloidal Cdx:CuInS2 quaternary quantum dots used as sensitizers in photovoltaic cells

Abstract

In this work, we present the synthesis of Cdx:CuInS2 quaternary quantum dots (q-QDs) using a one-pot non-injection approach of alloying CuInS2 with Cd2+. Photoluminescence measurements showed that an increase in the Cd mole fraction in Cdx:CuInS2 q-QDs caused a systematic blue-shift in the QD emission wavelength. The as-prepared Cdx:CuInS2 q-QDs exhibited emissions in the range of 560–645 nm, and a maximum fluorescence quantum yield of 22%. Time-resolved photoluminescence measurements indicated that the average lifetime of Cdx:CuInS2 q-QDs became shorter compared to that of the CuInS2 ternary QDs (t-QDs), clearly indicating that a certain amount of Cd2+ defects exist inside the CuInS2 host. The photovoltaic performance of QD-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) was investigated by sandwiching a polysulfide electrolyte between Cdx:CuInS2 q-QDs photoanodes and Cu2S photocathodes. A maximum energy conversion efficiency of 1.74% was obtained under AM1.5 G simulated solar light for the cell fabricated with Cdx:CuInS2 q-QDs (x = 1) as the sensitizer, which is about 70% and 35% better than the cells sensitized with pristine CuInS2 t-QDs and Zn:CuInS2 q-QDs, respectively. More interestingly, it was noted that JSC systematically improved as the quantum yields of Cdx:CuInS2 q-QDs increased, resulting in an enhancement in power conversion efficiency. Furthermore, the power conversion efficiency of the solar cells co-sensitized with Cd:CuInS2 and CdSe can be elevated further to an encouraging 2.86%.

Graphical abstract: One-pot synthesis of colloidal Cdx:CuInS2 quaternary quantum dots used as sensitizers in photovoltaic cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 Mar 2015
Accepted
16 Apr 2015
First published
16 Apr 2015

RSC Adv., 2015,5, 36605-36613

One-pot synthesis of colloidal Cdx:CuInS2 quaternary quantum dots used as sensitizers in photovoltaic cells

B. Wu, H. Chao, C. Chen, C. Yang and J. Chang, RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 36605 DOI: 10.1039/C5RA04275E

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