Synthesis and Characterization of ZnO/Cu2O and Co co-doped Ag-ZnO/Cu2O Nanoparticles with Possible Photovoltaic Applications

Abstract

The Photovoltaics phenomenon is one of the major turning points in the battle against the depletion of fossil fuels. Sunlight is the main resource in photovoltaics, but there remains a quest to harvest it efficiently to generate electricity. This study is focused on designing basic, cost-effective prototype solar cells using ZnO/Cu2O nanoparticles (NPs) and Co(cobalt) co-doped Ag-ZnO/Cu2O NPs under normal university laboratory conditions. ITO-coated glass was used as the substrate of the solar cell and a modified low-temperature chemical bath deposition method was used for fabrication. Both ZnO and Cu2O NPs were synthesized by aqueous precipitation methods and the fabrication was performed successfully using ZnO and Cu2O NPs. However, the fabrication with Co co-doped Ag-ZnO and Cu2O NPs requires more research since the Co co-doped Ag-ZnO NPs were synthesized by solvothermal method, and it appeared as a fine powder which was not thick enough to hold onto the Cu2O layer. The UV-spectroscopic analysis confirmed the characteristic band of ZnO NPs at 367.5 nm, Cu2O NPs at 360 nm, and Co co-doped Ag-ZnO NPs at 378 nm. The FTIR spectrum showed sharp peaks at 460 cm-1 and 606 cm-1 for the corresponding Zn-O bond and Cu-O bond, respectively with a broad peak at 1329 cm-1 for Cu2O FTIR, due to the chemisorbed and/or physiosorbed H2O and CO2 molecules on the surface of the nanostructure. The EDX analysis showed the presence of slight carbon impurity in ZnO NPs which resulted in a deviated XRD pattern while Cu2O NPs showed the characteristic XRD pattern. The solar cell illuminated under three different lux conditions, had the characteristic J-V plot when measured through Gamry Potentiostat.