Cadmium Sulfide Nanostructures for Photovoltaic Devices

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanostructures have been found to be attractive for possible applications in semiconductor lasers, light emitting diodes, photovoltaic cells, display devices and biological sensing. The present paper reviews our work on the potential of CdS based nanostructures and composites for photovoltaic and photosensitive devices. The realization of a hybrid photovoltaic device has been demonstrated by the dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-CdS nanocomposites in a conducting polymer [poly(3-hexylthiophene)] (P3HT) matrix. An improved photovoltaic effect has been observed in MWCNT-CdS/P3HT composite over control P3HT polymeric device. An improved photocurrent spectrum with broadband response (visible to near-infrared region) has been demonstrated in the Ge/CdS core-shell heterojunction nanowires, making them useful candidates for nanowire heterojunction solar cells.