Mn-doped CdS quantum dots as sensitizers in solar cells

Abstract CdS and different concentrations of Mn+2 doped CdS quantum dots are synthesized via simple chemical method on poly-vinyl alcohol matrix. The doped and undoped CdS quantum dots are characterized by using UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to revel the changes in optical and structural properties due to Mn doping. The synthesized quantum dots were used as sensitizing layer on a ZnO thin film solar cell and tested under artificial illumination condition to obtain the current density-voltage characteristics. A significantly higher efficiency of about 2.09% was obtained for Mn doped CdS quantum dots compared to that of 1% efficiency in pure CdS quantum dot sensitized solar cell.