Simple chemical route synthesized TiO₂/Ag₂S heterostructure towards efficient semiconductor sensitized solar cells

The efficient and inexpensive semiconductor sensitized solar cell (SSSC) device is fabricated based on TiO2/Ag2S photoanode, synthesized by chemically grown Ag2S nanoparticles over porous TiO2 at room temperature. The structural, optical, surface morphological and electrochemical performances of as deposited TiO2/Ag2S photoanode are systematically studied. The result designated that the tiny Ag2S nanoparticles are uniformly decorated on porous TiO2 thin film and efficiently extended their photo response in visible region of solar spectrum. Furthermore the paper explored the potential of Ag2S nanoparticles as a sensitizer in SSSC by constructing sandwich type device structure. The electrochemical and photovoltaic performance of the proposed architecture clearly reveals the charge transportation as well as device grade performance is significantly influenced by number of deposition cycles. The maximum photo conversion efficiency of 1.3% is achieved under illumination of simulated sunlight.