Photovoltaic efficiency improvement in dye-sensitized solar cell using copper-nitrogen-carbon quantum dots counter electrode and Cu phthalocyanine dye as a sensitizer

This study developed a novel Cu-N-CQDs nano composite counter electrode to enhance the performance of a dye-sensitized solar cell. The nanocomposite was prepared using pyrolysis. The effect of copper concentration on the efficiency of Cu-N-CQDs was investigated. On the other hand, a copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) bearing an electron-donating octa-tert-butylphenol and an electron-withdrawing p-coumarin acid group was successfully used as a sensitizer in DSSC applications. In this work, N-CQDs are used as both counter electrode and co-sensitizer. In the absence of N-CQDs as a co-sensitizer, the maximum of 1.71 %, J SC of 0.570 mA.cm −2 , and V OC of 0.411 mV were obtained. In the presence of N-CQDS as a sensitizer, we achieved an efficiency of 1.96%, with J SC of 0.648 mA.cm −2 , and V OC of 416.31 mV. The results show that introducing Cu onto the surface of N-CQDs enhances charge transport efficiency and reduces charge-transfer resistance, thereby improving conductivity.