title: Photo-sensitization of ZnS nanoparticles with renowned ruthenium dyes N3, N719 and Z907 for application in solid state dye sensitized solar cells: A comparative study.
abstract: This article presents a comprehensive relative report on the grafting of ZnS with renowned ruthenium ((Ru) dyes i.e. N3, N719 and Z907) and gives insight into their charge transfer interaction and sensitization mechanism for boosting solar cell efficiency. Influence of dye concentration on cell performance is also reported here. ZnS nanoparticles synthesized by a simple coprecipitation method with an average particle size of 15±2nm were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Elemental dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), tunneling electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. UV-Vis, photoluminescence (PL) and Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy confirms the successful grafting of these dyes over ZnS nanoparticles surface. Low-energy metal-to-ligand charge-transfer transition (MLCT) bands of dyes are mainly affected on grafting over the nanoparticle surface. Moreover their current voltage (I-V) results confirm the efficiency enhancement in ZnS solid state dye sensitized solar cells (SSDSSCs) owing to effective sensitization of this material with Ru dyes and helps in finding the optimum dye concentration for nanoparticles sensitization. Highest rise in overall solar cell efficiency i.e. 64% of the reference device has been observed for 0.3mM N719-ZnS sample owing to increased open circuit voltage (Voc) and fill factor (FF). Experimental and proposed results were found in good agreement with each other.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Erum
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nosheen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan. Electronic address: smschem69@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Syed Mujtaba
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Hazrat
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ghulam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Murtaza
mesh_terms: D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D004560:Electricity; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010316:Particle Size; D012428:Ruthenium / Q000737:chemistry*; D012993:Solar Energy; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction; D017967:Zinc Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D013440:Sulfides; D017967:Zinc Compounds; D012428:Ruthenium; C031238:zinc sulfide
keywords: Dye sensitization; N3; N719; Solar cells; Z907; ZnS