Zn-doped nanocrystalline TiO2 films for CdS quantum dot sensitized solar cells.

Quantum dot-sensitized solar cells based on Zn-doped TiO(2) (Zn-TiO(2)) film photoanode and polysulfide electrolyte were fabricated. Zn-TiO(2) nanoparticles were obtained via a hydrothermal method and screen printed on the fluorine-doped tin oxide glass to prepare the photoanode. The structure, morphology and impedance of the Zn-TiO(2)/CdS film and the photovoltaic performance of the Zn-TiO(2)/CdS cell were investigated. It was found that the photovoltaic efficiency was improved by 24% when the Zn-TiO(2) film was adopted as the photoanode of CdS QDSSCs instead of only the TiO(2) layer. The improvement was ascribed to the reduction of electron recombination and the enhancement of electron transport in the TiO(2) film by Zn doping.