Annealing effect on Sb2S3-TiO2 nanostructures for solar cell applications

• Published in: Nanoscale research letters 2013-02, Vol.8 (1), p.89-89, Article 89
• Main Authors: Li, Yitan, Wei, Lin, Zhang, Ruizi, Chen, Yanxue, Mei, Liangmo, Jiao, Jun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chemistry and Materials Science; Materials Science; Molecular Medicine; Nano Express; Nanochemistry; Nanoscale Science and Technology; Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology and Microengineering
• ISSN: 1931-7573; 1556-276X; 1556-276X
• DOI: 10.1186/1556-276X-8-89

Nanostructures composited of vertical rutile TiO 2 nanorod arrays and Sb 2 S 3 nanoparticles were prepared on an F:SnO 2 conductive glass by hydrothermal method and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method at low temperature. Sb 2 S 3 -sensitized TiO 2 nanorod solar cells were assembled using the Sb 2 S 3 -TiO 2 nanostructure as the photoanode and a polysulfide solution as an electrolyte. Annealing effects on the optical and photovoltaic properties of Sb 2 S 3 -TiO 2 nanostructure were studied systematically. As the annealing temperatures increased, a regular red shift of the bandgap of Sb 2 S 3 nanoparticles was observed, where the bandgap decreased from 2.25 to 1.73 eV. At the same time, the photovoltaic conversion efficiency for the nanostructured solar cells increased from 0.46% up to 1.47% as a consequence of the annealing effect. This improvement can be explained by considering the changes in the morphology, the crystalline quality, and the optical properties caused by the annealing treatment.