Reporting performance in MoS2–TiO2 bilayer and heterojunction films based dye-sensitized photovoltaic devices

Abstract Three types of bilayer and heterojunction films photoanodes were designed and fabricated from green synthesized MoS 2 and TiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs), and then the dye-sensitized solar cells based on these various films photoanodes were investigated. Results demonstrated that layered semiconductor MoS 2 could be a viable material candidate for solar cell applications due to its superior photoelectric characteristics. The DSSCs from the MoS 2 @TiO 2 heterojunction film photoanode exhibit the highest solar energy conversion efficiency of 6.02% under AM 1.5G simulated solar irradiation, which is 1.5 times higher than that of the cell from pure TiO 2 film photoanode. MoS 2 –TiO 2 heterojunction at the interface helps MoS 2 NPs to efficiently collect the photo-injected electrons from TiO 2 NPs, thus reduce charge recombination at both the NPs-electrolyte and NPs-dye interfaces. These advantages together with collecting or transferring injected electrons abilities by combining the improved light absorption and the large dye-loading capacity of such structural NPs films, rendering the MoS 2 –TiO 2 composite photoelectrode superior potential for DSSCs applications.