Photoelectrochemical performance of ZnCdSe-sensitized \WO3\ thin films
By Ruchi Gakhar and Dev Chidambaram
Published in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells
2016
Abstract
Due to its wide gap, \WO3\ mostly absorbs only the ultraviolet radiation, resulting into lower charge collection and thus necessitating the coupling (doping or sensitization) of \WO3\ with low band gap materials so as to achieve the photoexcitation and charge separation. This study reports the sensitization of \WO3\ films with ternary quantum dots (ZnCdSe) using \SILAR\ technique for the first time. The porous \WO3\ layer was spray deposited using ammonium metatungstate as precursor. The structural, surface morphological and optical properties of the sensitized \WO3\ thin films were studied. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) studies of the sensitized films showed superior performance to that of unmodified \WO3\ films. Photocurrent density of 8.53 mA/cm2 (at 0 V vs Ag/AgCl) was observed for film sensitized with 9 cycles of \SILAR\ deposition annealed at 400