Dye modification with photovoltaic enhancement for CdS quantum dots sensitized solar cell based on three-dimensional ZnO spheres

A large amount of ZnO with a three-dimensional sphere-like morphology has been synthesized by a facile hydrothermal route and applied as the photoanode material in CdS quantum dots sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). After the modification of the dye co-sensitized process, an overall power conversion efficiency of 2.32 % with a short-circuit current density of 9.25 mA/cm² was obtained in ZnO/CdS/dye-QDSSC, which shows 66.9 and 49.4 % respective improvement over that of pure ZnO/CdS–QDSSC. This result is attributed to its superiority in light absorption and charge–hole separation for the ZnO/CdS/dye-QDSSC.