Growth of Sb2S3 semiconductor thin film on different morphologies of TiO2 nanostructures

Abstract Sb2S3 is a promising sensitizer material for solar cell devices. Growth and morphological characteristics of Sb2S3 nanoparticles made by chemical bath deposition on anatase TiO2 with various morphological attributes including mesoporous P25 nanoparticles, microsphere and its composite, anodized nanotubes, and nanorods are shown to widely differ. Sb2S3 coated on P25 photoanode for different time duration (45 min to 4 h) show that the deposition for 2 h is sufficient to obtain uniform coating with good crystallinity. Sb2S3 growth on TiO2 nanotube, nanorod and microspheres lead to conformal coverage, whereas, it hardly grows on glass/FTO. Photoconversion ability is studied using photoconductivity and photovoltaic measurements. Optimally sensitized Sb2S3 solar cells fabricated using I−/I3− liquid electrolyte exhibit photoconversion efficiency up to 0.35 % for cell area of 0.25 cm2. High photoconductivity found in Sb2S3 sensitized TiO2 microsphere-composite and nanorod compared to the P25-TiO2 photoanode is attributed to good connectivity between particles and effective electron transport.