Facile microwave approach for synthesis of CdS quantum dots as barrier layer for increasing dye-sensitized solar cells efficiency

Herein, CdS quantum dots were successfully synthesized via a facile and rapid microwave route using [Cd(en)2]SO4 and thiosemicarbazid in the acidic mixture of water and ethylene glycol. Then, the as-prepared CdS was deposited on TiO2 by chemical bath deposition method and electrophoresis deposition was used for fabrication of TiO2 layer on the FTO glass substrate. The crystal structure, morphology, composition, and optical properties of the CdS nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cross-section SEM, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and FTIR spectroscopy. The result showed utilizing prepared CdS nanoparticles as barrier layer in dye sensitized solar cells presented remarkable enhancement in efficiency from 5.09 to 7.54 % (~48 %) of solar cells compared with the cell without a barrier layer.