A structure of CdS/CuxS quantum dots sensitized solar cells.

This work introduces a type of CdS/CuxS quantum dots (QDs) as sensitizers in quantum dot sensitized solar cells by in-situ cationic exchange reaction method where CdS photoanode is directly immersed in CuCl2 methanol solution to replace Cd2+ by Cu2+. The p-type CuxS layer on the surface of the CdS QDs can be considered as hole transport material, which not only enhances the light harvesting of photoanode but also boosts the charge separation after photo-excitation. Therefore, both the electron collection efficiency and power conversion efficiency of the solar cell are improved from 80% to 92% and from 1.21% to 2.78%, respectively.