Synthesis and characterization of tin disulfide nanocrystals for hybrid bulk hetero-junction solar cell applications

• DOI: 10.1007/s13391-015-5266-8
• Publication Date: 2016-03-07T10:15:57Z
• Authors: Nguyen Tam Nguyen...; Chinho Park
• Keywords: 0103 physical sciences; 7. Clean energy; 01 natural sciences

SnS2 nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized using a modified hot injection method, and the morphological, structural, optical properties and chemical composition of the SnS2 NPs were characterized using a range of analysis techniques. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed distorted-hexagonal shape and particle size of the assynthesized nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the SnS2 NPs had high crystallinity with hexagonal structure. Ultravioletvisible (UV-vis) absorption spectrum revealed an absorption band at 440nm due to SnS2 nanoparticles. Solar cell devices based on the blending of a conjugated polymer as a donor material and SnS2 (NPs) as an acceptor material were fabricated, and the device performance was tested. The solar cell efficiency was improved by optimizing the thickness of active layer containing the well-controlled SnS2 NPs, and increasing the light harvesting using a low band gap polymer. The results indicate that the SnS2 NPs can be good candidate materials for bulk hetero-junction (BHJ) solar cells.