Electrospun TiO2 nanorods assembly sensitized by CdS quantum dots: a low-cost photovoltaic material

An easily processable nanostructure comprising a TiO2 nanorod (NR) core and CdS quantum dot (QD) shell is fabricated by electrospinning and a successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method, respectively. The composite material is successfully assembled to photovoltaic devices for efficient solar energy conversion. Stable photovoltaic parameters of a short-circuit photocurrent density of 3.62 mA cm−2, an open-circuit voltage of 0.482 V, a fill factor of 0.30, and an overall power conversion efficiency of over 0.5% are obtained in the presence of a polysulfide electrolyte under standard 1 sun illumination of 100 mW cm−2. Without any elaborate and complicated fabrication procedures, the present methodology is believed to provide a promising mass production means for alternative low-cost solar cells as both electrospinning and SILAR are simple and scalable techniques.