Solar Energy, Vol.183, 697-703, 2019
Effect of cobalt doping on the device properties of Sb2S3-sensitized TiO2 solar cells
In this work, we studied the photovoltaic performance of cobalt-doped Sb2S3 sensitized TiO2 solar cells. The effect of cobalt concentration on structural, optical and photovoltaic properties of the solar cells was analyzed. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the Sb2S3 and Sb2S3:Co samples matched well with the stibnite phase, and showed an increment in the crystal size from 25 nm to 31 nm with the cobalt doping. The photoelectrodes have a direct band gap in the range of 1.6-1.67 eV. The dark conductivity of the TiO2 layer was increased by two orders of magnitude by sensitizing with Sb2S3 which was further increased by one order after Co doping. Likewise, a betterment of photosensitivity was also seen with Sb2S3:Co. The power conversion efficiency of the sensitized solar cells improved from 0.52% for Sb2S3 to 1.33% for Sb2S3:Co samples using 2 mol% of cobalt. This enhancement was related to the charge transport, verified from the impedance characterization, where a decrease in charge transport resistance was observed for Sb2S3:Co sensitized solar cells.