AgInS 2 -ZnS Quantum Dots: Excited State Interactions with TiO 2 and Photovoltaic Performance

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 9; no. 39; pp. 33379 - 33388
• Main Authors: Kobosko, Steven M, Jara, Danilo H, Kamat, Prashant V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society (ACS) 04-10-2017
• Subjects: Materials Science; Science & Technology - Other Topics; quantum dots; AgInS2; emission quenching; solar cells; electron transfer
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b14604

Multinary quantum dots such as AgInS
and alloyed AgInS
-ZnS are an emerging class of semiconductor materials for applications in photovoltaic and display devices. The nanocrystals of (AgInS
)
-(ZnS)
(for x = 0.67) exhibit a broad emission with a maximum at 623 nm and interact strongly with TiO
nanostructures by injecting electrons from the excited state. The electron transfer rate constant as determined from transient absorption spectroscopy was 1.8 × 10
s
. The photovoltaic performance was evaluated over a period of a few weeks to demonstrate the stability of AgInS
-ZnS when utilized as sensitizers in solar cells. We report a power conversion efficiency of 2.25% of our champion cell 1 month after its fabrication. The limitations of AgInS
-ZnS nanocrystals in achieving greater solar cell efficiency are discussed.