ATO/CuS composite counter electrodes enhanced the photovoltaic performance of quantum dot sensitized solar cells

Based on the high conductivity of antimony doped tin oxide (ATO) nanoparticles and the excellent electrocatalytic activity of CuS, ATO porous matrix film-supported CuS composites were constructed on the fluorine-doped tin oxide glass substrate by screen printing combined with successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR). It was found that increasing the cycle number of SILAR could produce more catalytic active sites to accelerate the reduction of the S2−/Sn2− electrolyte, but causing a drop in the conductivity of the ATO/CuS counter electrode (CE). Accordingly, the optimized number of deposition cycles of CuS was kept at 10 cycles (ATO/10CuS) after resorting to establishing a balance between electrocatalytic activity and conductivity of CE. The CdS/CdSe quantum dot sensitized solar cell with optimal efficiency of 4.79 % was achieved.