Electrodeposited AgInSe2 onto TiO2 films for semiconductor-sensitized solar cell application: The influence of electrodeposited time

The influence of electrodeposited time (EDT) on Ag-In-Se species growth onto TiO2 films for possible semiconductor-sensitized solar cells (SSSCs) application was investigated. XRD analysis illustrated that the Ag-In-Se film was predominantly comprised by AgInSe2 species with tetragonal body structure and crystal size of 6.05-7.50 nm when EDT was in the region of 15-60 min at a bias of -1.25 V (verse Hg/Hg2SO4 (MSE)). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) indicated a high porosity of AgInSe2/ITO morphology, permitting electrolytes freely percolated through these films. The prepared AgInSe2 films exhibited n-type semiconductor behavior with two band gap energies at 1.27 and 1.80 eV. Photoelectro-chemical measurement reflected that open circuit potential varied little with EDT, however, significant change was associated with short circuit current and fill factor (FF), causing the AgInSe2/TiO2 films with EDT of 45 min exhibited the best solar to electricity conversion efficiency of 0.26%. The AgInSe2/TiO2 films with EDT of 45 min demonstrated the longest electron lifetime according to the open circuit voltage decay analysis. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.