CdS−SnO2−ZnO−Doped TiO2 Nanocomposite: A High-Efficiency Photoanode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

The present study explores the development of a highly efficient titania-based nanocomposite for application in dyesensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The composite incorporates zinc oxide (ZnO), tin oxide (SnO2), and cadmium sulfide (CdS)-doped titanium dioxide (TiO2), synthesized via the precipitation method. These materials are employed individually, as binary mixtures and in ternary form within DSSC architectures. Among these, the CdS−SnO2−ZnO-doped TiO2 nanocomposite demonstrated notable enhancement in the photoelectric performance of DSSCs. The nanocomposite was deposited onto fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates by using the doctor blade technique. Comprehensive material characterization was carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) to investigate the surface morphology and elemental composition. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the crystalline phases of the synthesized material. Additionally, UV−vis spectroscopy and differential reflectance spectroscopy were employed to identify the optical absorption region and to calculate the energy bandgap (Eg) using the Tauc plot, which yielded a value of 2.6 eV for the composite. Photovoltaic performance, assessed through current−voltage (I−V) measurements, revealed that the CdS−SnO2−ZnO-doped TiO2 photoanode significantly improves charge transport in DSSCs. The device demonstrated a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.7% with the fluorescent dye, which is approximately four times higher than that achieved with pristine TiO2 using the same dye (2.7%).

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