ES Energy Environ., 2021, 12, 77-85

© Engineered Science Publisher LLC 2021 ES Energy Environ., 2021, 12, 77-85 | 77

nbslcnls

Fabrication and Characterization of ZnS based Photoelectrochemical Solar Cell Priyanka M. Mana, Pankaj K. Bhujbal and Habib M. Pathan*

Abstract

Zinc sulphide photoanode was prepared by a cost-effective and simple successive Ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) process on to a fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate for photoelectrochemical solar cell application. From the optical absorption spectrum, a bandgap of synthesized ZnS photoanode was obtained around 3.47-3.62 eV. The surface morphology of the deposited photoanode was characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The average thickness of the deposited film was found to be 2.25 µm. We have fabricated photoelectrochemical solar cells using low crystalline ZnS as photoanode material and Coumarin-343 (C-343) dye as a sensitizer. photoelectrochemical solar cells have been built and their photocurrent, open-circuit voltage, fill factor and efficiency has been measured under one sun. Nyquist plot and Bode plot were plotted using electron impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The effective parameters were found. The photovoltaic properties of the ZnS based photoelectrochemical solar cell were studied. The maximum efficiency of 0.1% was observed for ZnS based photoelectrochemical solar cells.

Keywords: Zinc sulphide (ZnS); SILAR; Photoelectrochemical solar cell; Electrochemical characterizations. Received: 6 August 2020; Accepted: 6 December 2020.

Article type: Research article.

1. Introduction

The era of innovations and discoveries in the field of Solar

cells began in the early 19th century when scientists observed

that the solar energy was directly converted to usable electric

energy. The necessity of large-scale solar electricity

production has become progressively crucial for the reasons

of energy security and climate change mitigation. Utilizing

solar energy for various needs has become easy by the

innovations in the field of solar technologies.[1] To date, solar

energy technologies can be classified into three stages of its

development such as the first generation based on single

crystalline semiconductors,[2] a second-generation based on

inorganic thin films[2], and a third-generation being

photovoltaic solar cells.[3] Semiconducting organic

macromolecules, inorganic nanoparticles, or hybrids play a

key role in third-generation solar cells which are indeed a

solution in the semiconductor industry for tackling the energy

crisis.[4] Compared to conventional silicon solar cells,

photoelectrochemical solar cells[5] are considered with low

fabrication cost and simple structures. Therefore, in the past

fabrication cost and simple structures. Therefore, in the past

two decades, a lot of researches has been reported in

improving photoelectrochemical solar cell efficiency, new

photo-anode materials, study of new electrolytes, and various

dyes for sensitization of the photo-anodes.[6-9]

Surface morphology,[10] band structure, photochemical

stability, and surface area[11] are some of the important factors

to be considered while selecting a photoanode for the

photoelectrochemical solar cell. Nano-sized TiO2 has have

been extensively studied as a photoanode for

photoelectrochemical solar cell because of its porous nature,

appropriate band structure for excitation of dye molecules, and

excellent photochemical stability.[12] Light-harvesting

efficiency of dye molecules[13] plays a vital role in the photo

conversion efficiency of photoelectrochemical solar cells.

High surface area of photoelectrode enables it for large uptake

of dye molecules and to make it for an effective harvest of

incoming light. Higher the light scattering better will be the

light harvesting of the dye molecules for a typical nano-porous

photo-anode.

In this study, we have introduced a metal chalcogenide

family[14] as a photoanode for photoelectrochemical solar cells.

ZnS is the material we have selected as a metal chalcogenide

photoanode for photoelectrochemical solar cell application. A

novel approach of replacing conventional metal oxide nano-

ES Energy & Environment DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.30919/esee8c1021

Advanced Physics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Savitribai

Phule Pune University Pune-411007.

*Email: pathan@physics.unipune.ac.in (H. M. Pathan)

Research article ES Energy & Environment

78 | ES Energy Environ., 2021, 12, 77-85 © Engineered Science Publisher LLC 2021

Table 1. Physical properties of ZnS film.

Physical Properties

Parameters Reference

Energy Band gap (eV) 3.68 at 300K [23]

Density (g/cm3) 4.090

[22]

Refractive index 2.356

Electron mobility (cm2/V-s) 250

Thermal Expansion Coefficient

(μm/m°C) 6.36

Relative dielectric constant 8.9

porous photoanode with metal chalcogenide was done

effectively. For this demonstration, zinc sulfide (ZnS) is

selected as the photo-electrode as it is an important II-VI

semiconducting material, nontoxic, low-cost chemical and

better chemical stability. The important physical properties of

ZnS film are summarised in Table 1. The ZnS facilitates the

incident photons of high energy to arrive at the window-

absorber junction, improving the blue response of the

photovoltaic cells, which provides better performance of the

PEC cell. The position of the conduction and valance band of

ZnS is at -4.25 and -7.45 eV respectively. The highest

occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied

molecular orbital (LUMO) levels of the Coumarin-343 (C-343)

dye are -5.7 and -3.11 eV respectively. The LUMO level

position and the ZnS conductive band are compatible. Since it

is suitable as a photoanode in PECs. Fig. 1 shows the band

diagram and electron transport mechanism of C343 sensitized

ZnS photoanode based DSSC.

Fig. 1 Band diagram & electron transport in C-343 ZnS

photoanode based PEC.

Various researchers have reported that ZnS thin films have

been deposited using different physical and chemical methods,

as pulsed laser deposition,[15] thermal evaporation,[16]

sputtering,[17] electrodeposition,[18] metal organic chemical

vapor deposition,[19] chemical bath deposition,[20] SILAR

(Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction),[21] etc.

Among these techniques, the SILAR technique is simple and

economical. It is a unique method by which thin films of

compound semiconductors can be deposited by alternate

immersion of a substrate into solutions containing ions of each

precursor. We can easily control the growth of the film by

simply varying the deposition parameters.

In this report, optical studies were done for various SILAR

cycles and the Tauc plot was plotted. It was observed that as

the number of SILAR cycles increases the bandgap of ZnS

photoelectrode was found to be decreasing. FESEM

morphology of ZnS photoelectrode was showing a nano-

porous nature which seems good for a photoelectrochemical

solar cell photoanode. XRD pattern was showing alow

crystalline nature of ZnS thin films. Later-on increasing the

number of SILAR cycles the crystalline nature of thin films

may be observed. M. Ragam et al.[22] reported a ZnS based

photoelectrochemical solar cell with maximum solar

conversion efficiency (η) of the photoelectrochemical solar

cell with iodide electrolyte up to 0.016% with Methyl Blue

sensitizer and 0.099% with Eosin-Y dye.

2. Experimental section

2.1 Materials

Zinc nitrate hexahydrate and sodium sulfide were purchased

from Sigma Aldrich respectively. H2O was purified by

distillation and filtration. Pure double distilled water is used

for SILAR cycles. Liquid electrolyte (EL141) containing I-/I3-

redox couple were supplied by Dyesol Co. Fluorine-doped tin

oxide (FTO) glass (e14 ohm/square) was from Pilkington.

2.2 Experimental methods

2.2.1 Pre-cleaning of FTO and glass substrates

The pre-cleaning of FTO and Glass substrates was achieved

by sonicating it in soap solution, ethanol and distilled water.

The zinc sulphide thin film was prepared at room temperature

on thus pre-cleaned FTO and glass substrates.

2.2.2 Preparation of cationic and anionic precursors

Zinc Sulphide thin films were deposited on FTO using

Zn(NO3)2 as cationic precursor and Na2S as anionic precursor.

0.1M equivalent Zn(NO3)2 and Na2S were taken and dissolved

in 25 ml of DDW water respectively. Parameters used for the

deposition of ZnS thin film are summarized in Table 2.

We have selected simple and cost-effective chemical route

successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) for the

synthesis of ZnS thin film photo-anodes. One SILAR cycle

contains four steps: (a) the immersion of the substrate into the

first beaker containing the aqueous cationic precursor, (b)

rinsed with water, (c) immersion into the anionic precursor

solution, and (d) rinsing with water. Numbers of SILAR cycles

were repeated for uniform deposition of ZnS films on the pre-

cleaned FTO substrate.[24-29]

ES Energy & Environment Research article

© Engineered Science Publisher LLC 2021 ES Energy. Environ., 2021, 12, 77-85 | 79

Table 2. Parameter’s used for the deposition of ZnS thin film.

Parameters Precursors Solutions

Zinc Nitrate Sodium Sulphide

Concentration 0.1 M 0.1 M

pH ~9 ~9

Immersion Time (s) 15 15

Rinsing Time (s) 30 30

Number of SILAR cycles 40-70 40-70

Temperature (K) 300 300

2.2.3 Sensitization using coumarin-343

Before solar cell testing, the prepared films were immersed in

standard metal-free organic Coumarin-343 dye (Sigma

Aldrich, USA) with a concentration of 0.3 mM solution in

ethanol for 180 minutes for sensitization. Table 3 shows the

detailed description of the dye used for the sensitization of the

ZnS photoanode.

Table 3. Detail description of dye used for sensitization of ZnS

photoanode.

Nomencla-

ture

IUPAC

Name

Chemical

formulae

Molecular

Weight

(g/mol)

Concent-

ration

(M)

Coumarin

C343

5-(1,4,7,10-

tetraoxa-13-

azacyclopentadeca

ne-13-carbonyl)-3-

oxa-13-

azatetracyclo

[7.7.1.0^{2,7}.0^{

13,17}]

heptadeca-

1,5,7,9(17)-

tetraen-4-one

C26H34N

2O7

486.565 3 × 10-3

Fig. 2 Schematic of ZnS photoanode based photoelectrochemical

solar cell.

2.2.4 Solar cell assembly

Fig. 2 shows the schematic of ZnS photoanode based

photoelectrochemical solar cell. Platinum coated FTO used as

a counter electrode facing the ZnS photoelectrode was held

together using binder clips on the opposite end. Poly-iodide

solution was used as a liquid electrolyte consisting of 0.5 M

lithium iodide (SRL, India), 0.05 M iodine (Fisher Scientific,

USA), and 0.15 M tertiary butyl pyridine (ACROS Organics,

Belgium) in 100ml acetonitrile (SDFCL, India). Three to Five

layers scotch-tape of thickness about 30-45 μm were used as

spacers placed at the edge of the ZnS working electrode with

the active area of 0.25 cm2. Just before the analysis, drops of

prepared poly-iodide electrolytes were added in the prepared

sandwiched cell till no air bubble is present. The light was

introduced such that light gets penetrate through the FTO back

contact to the dye adsorbed onto the ZnS photo-anode.

3. Experimental characterizations

The microstructural properties of amorphous and crystalline

nature of SILAR deposited ZnS thin films were carried out

using X-ray diffractometer model Bruker D8 with CuKα

radiation of wavelength 1.5405 Å in the range of 20°-80°using

Rigaku D/Max-IIIC diffractometer. The Surface morphology

has been studied using Field emission scanning electron

microscopy (FESEM: FEI Nova NanoSEM450)with an

attached energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS: Bruker

XFlash 6130) to qualitatively measure the sample

stoichiometry. The sintered films were found porous

signifying its suitability for photoelectrochemical solar cell

applications. The absorption spectra of ZnS thin films with

different SILAR cycles were measured with an optical JASCO

V-770 UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The Absorption spectra

were plotted in the wavelength range of 300-800 nm.

Photovoltaic parameters of the fabricated cell were measured

using a solar simulator (Oriel Sol-2A, Newport, USA). AM1.5

sunlight filters with illumination intensities50 mW/cm2 and 33

mW/cm2 LED (Nvis Clean Tech, India). Keithley source meter

2420 (Keithley Instruments Ltd., USA) was used to measure

J-V characteristics. The incident intensity of illuminating light

sources was measured using sun meter (Solatron DSM 01,

India) and digital lux meter (Lutron LX-101A, Lutron

Electronic Enterprise CO., LTD., Taiwan). Optical

luminescence of illuminated light source was measured using

an optical spectrometer (Ocean Optics HR 4000, USA). The

J-V curve of the solar cell was obtained in the dark condition.

The J-V characteristics used to obtain open circuit voltage

(Voc), short circuit current density (Jsc), fill factor (FF),

efficiency (Eff). Electrochemical impedance measurements

were carried out using potentiostat/galvanostat (Vertex

IVIUM Technologies, Netherlands).

4. Results and discussion

4.1 Optical study

The Absorption Spectra of as-deposited ZnS films with varied

numbers of SILAR cycles were plotted as shown in Fig. 3. The

absorption peaks were in the visible range of the spectrum.

Research article ES Energy & Environment

80 | ES Energy Environ., 2021, 12, 77-85 © Engineered Science Publisher LLC 2021

Fig. 3 The absorption spectrum of ZnS thin films for various

SILAR cycles.

Fig. 4 shows the tauc plot for various cycles of as-deposited

ZnS films. The band-gap was found to be 3.62 eV - 3.47 eV

for various deposition cycles.[23-24]The calculated values are

given in Table 4.

Fig. 4 The tauc plot of ZnS thin films for various SILAR cycles.

Table 4. The calculated bandgap Energy for the varied thickness

of ZnS photoanodes.

Varied SILAR Cycles Energy Gap

(eV)

ZnS (40) 3.62

ZnS (50) 3.54

ZnS (60) 3.52

ZnS (70) 3.50

It was observed that as the number of SILAR cycles

increases the optical bandgap was found to be decreasing. The

energy gaps of the films of various temperatures have been

determined by extrapolating the linear portion of the plots of

(αhν)2 against hυ (eV) to the energy axis.[32] Sensitization of

ZnS photoanode using Coumarin-343 in ethanol medium was

carried out and the absorption spectrum was plotted in the

wavelength range 200-800 nm.

Fig. 5 The UV-Visible spectra for the C-343 sensitized ZnS

photoanode.

The UV-Visible spectra for the C-343 sensitized ZnS

photoanode is as shown in Fig. 5. The spectrum shows two

distinct peaks at 316 nm and 426 nm. The spectrum is

attributed to organic dye C-343 and the absorption results are

in reasonable agreement with the literature.[33] It can be noted

that the C-343 absorption spectrum consists of one sole peak

at 460 nm.

Fig. 6 Low crystalline nature of deposited ZnS thin films

deposited on an FTO substrate.

ES Energy & Environment Research article

© Engineered Science Publisher LLC 2021 ES Energy. Environ., 2021, 12, 77-85 | 81

Fig. 7 FESEM images of Low Crystalline ZnS photo-anode.

4.2 Structural studies

The SILAR Deposited ZnS films deposited on the glass

substrate has been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD).

Fig. 6 shows the Low Crystalline nature of deposited ZnS

films on an FTO substrate were studied. From the XRD Graph,

it was observed that peak at 28.7° (111) which confirmed the

presence of ZnS in a low crystalline form which was matched

with JCPDS Card No: 05-0566. Here in this article, the low

crystalline nature of ZnS is exploited as an advantage in the

sense that it provides a more uniform coverage of the FTO

substrate by ZnS without gaps between the grains. The bilayer

form of solar cell assembly plays an added advantageous since

a second new layer will not come into direct contact with the

FTO front through any possible gaps between ZnS grains.

4.3 Morphological studies

A field emission scanning electron microscope has been used

to study the morphology of ZnS surface films. Fig. 7 shows

the FESEM images of deposited films in the magnification

range of 30000 and 100000. The FESEM image establishes

the mesoporous nature of ZnS films which is a suitable

morphology for the application of a photoelectrochemical

solar cell. The average thickness of the ZnS film was found to

be 1.43 µm using cross-section measurement in FESEM.

4.4 Compositional analysis

Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometer (EDS) was used to

study the compositional analysis of SILAR deposited ZnS

films. Fig. 8 shows the EDS spectrum of the surface film. The

elemental analysis shows the presence of Zinc (Zn) and

sulphur (S) along with some other elements. In the spectra, a

carbon peak is observed due to the substrate holder and an

oxygen peak might be due to the partial oxidation of the film.

Presence of Si and Sn results from the substrate. The relative

average atomic percentage ratio of Zn:S is nearly 1:1 for the

films, indicating the formation of a film with stoichiometric

composition.

Research article ES Energy & Environment

82 | ES Energy Environ., 2021, 12, 77-85 © Engineered Science Publisher LLC 2021

Fig. 8 The EDS spectra of ZnS photoanode.

The EDS spectra shows two peaks for the Zn atom

attributable to the Kα and Lα. EDS characteristic peaks (keV)

for Zn are 8.630 (Kα) and 1.012(Lα) respectively. Although

Zn atom has a peak (keV) characteristic at 2.307 (Kα).

4.5 Solar cell characteristics

Fig. 9 shows J-V Characteristics the C-343 sensitized ZnS

photoanode photoelectrochemical solar cell with Platinum as

counter and polyiodide as electrolyte. The J-V characteristics

of the thus fabricated solar cell was carried out using a solar

simulator (Oriel Sol-2A, Newport, USA). AM1.5 sunlight

filters with illumination intensities 50 mW/cm2 and 33

mW/cm2 LED (Nvis Clean Tech, India). Keithleysource meter

2420 (Keithley Instruments Ltd., USA) was used to measure

J-V Characteristics. The incident intensity of illuminating light

source was measured using sun meter (Solatron DSM 01,

India) and digital lux meter (Lutron LX-101A, Lutron

Electronic Enterprise CO., LTD., Taiwan). The characteristics

such as open circuit voltage (Voc), short circuit current density

(Jsc), fill factor (FF), efficiency (𝞰) were found as 0.52 V, 0.35

mA/cm2,0.59 and 0.1%, respectively. The calculated values

are given in Table 5. Since ZnS is usually attempted as a

collecting layer; here we try to study ZnS separately for solar

cell applications. Further refinement will be done to enhance

the efficiency with some efficiently.

Fig. 9 J-V Characteristics of SILAR prepared ZnS Photoanode for a) 40, b) 50, c) 60 and d) 70 SILAR cycles respectively sensitized

with C-343 Dye for photoelectrochemical solar cell application.

ES Energy & Environment Research article

© Engineered Science Publisher LLC 2021 ES Energy. Environ., 2021, 12, 77-85 | 83

Table 5. The Solar Cell parameters from J-V Characteristics under one Sun condition.

Fig. 10 shows the Bode plot of a) 40, b) 50, c) 60 and d) 70 SILAR

cycles respectively sensitized with C343 Dye using EIS

characterisation for photoelectrochemical solar cell applications.

4.6 Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

Electrochemical Impedance spectroscopy was carried out in

MHz to Hz frequency range with -0.8 V constant applied

potential. Fig. 10 shows the Bode plot with characteristic

frequency peak in the middle frequency range. The mean

electron lifetime calculated from the relation:

τmax=1

2𝜋𝑓𝑚𝑎𝑥 (1)

Where, fmax is the maximum frequency. The electron lifetime

was observed under dark conditions. When light is incident on

the cell, the electrons are generated and current flows through

the external circuit, which reduces the charge recombination

resistance and this reduces the electron lifetime. The EIS study

is carried out to determine electron transport and

recombination resistance. Fig. 11 shows the Nyquist plot for

the ZnS based photoelectrochemical solar cell.

The series resistance of solar cell was calculated from the

Nyquist plot as ~16.6 ohms. The EIS equivalent circuit fitted

parameters Rtr and Rct can be used to calculate the parameters

such as diffusion length (Ln), charge collection efficiency (𝞰cc),

effective electron diffusion coefficient (Deff), effective

electron diffusion length (Leff), which is useful to study the

electron transport properties of the solar cell. With the help of

the EIS Nyquist plot, the diffusion length is calculated using

formula Ln =√(Rct/Rtr).[34] Further effective electron diffusion

co-efficient in the photoanode is given by Deff = (Rct/Rtr) ×

(l2/τeff).[35] Where l is the thickness of ZnS thin film. Charge

collection efficiency is calculated using 𝞰cc= 1-(Rtr/Rct).[36]

Effective electron diffusion length calculated using

Leff=√(Deff × τ eff).[37] Effective electron diffusion length

calculated using τ D = τeff * (Rtr/Rct).[38] The calculated values

are given in Table 6.[39]

Table. 6. Detailed report of EIS study of SILAR prepared ZnS photoanode (40-70 cycles) for photoelectrochemical solar cell

application.

Sample in Dark

Room (No. of cycles) RTR RCT RCT/RTR

Ln

(μm)

𝞰cc

(%)

τeff

(ms)

τd

(ms)

Deff

(cm2/s)

Leff

(μm)

Sample1: ZnS (70) 24.29 254 10.45 3.233 0.904 1.59 0.15 1.343 4.62

Sample 2: ZnS (60) 310.8 2170 6.981 2.64 0.856 0.014 2.03 0.031 6.60

Sample 3: ZnS (50) 428.9 1026 23.92 4.89 0.958 0.012 0.50 0.079 9.73

Sample 4: ZnS (40) 11050 11490 10.39 3.22 0.903 0.010 0.96 0.021 4.58

Sample

(No. Of Cycles)

J sc

(mA/cm2)

V oc

(V)

Fill Factor

Efficiency

(%)

ZnS (40) 0.118 0.108 0.24 0.0031

ZnS (50) 0.004 0.040 0.25 0.0004

ZnS (60) 0.023 0.353 0.27 0.0022

ZnS (70) 0.350 0.520 0.59 0.1000

Research article ES Energy & Environment

84 | ES Energy Environ., 2021, 12, 77-85 © Engineered Science Publisher LLC 2021

Fig. 11 shows the Nyquist plot of a) 40, b) 50, c) 60 and d) 70

SILAR cycles respectively sensitized with C343 Dye using EIS

characterisation for photoelectrochemical solar cell application.

5. Conclusions

We reported a low crystalline or amorphous nature of zinc

sulfide (ZnS) as a photoanode for photoelectrochemical solar

cell applications. For the synthesis of ZnS thin film photo-

anodes, we used simple and cost-effective chemical route

successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR)

method. The dye sensitized ZnS nanoparticles show a strong

visible absorption at 460 nm in UV-Vis analysis. The fill factor

and efficiency of the device was found to be 0.59 and 0.1%

respectively. Electrochemical studies of thus prepared ZnS

photo-anode were carried out. The mean electron lifetime and

effective electron diffusion length were calculated as 1.59 ms

and 4.62 μm respectively under dark condition. Structural

Analysis shows that the nanoporous and crystalline nature of

the ZnS thin films which implies that it is a suitable and

considerable candidate for photoanode in the

Photoelectrochemical solar cell.

Acknowledgment

HMP acknowledges the Department of Science and

Technology, Government of India for financial support vide

Sanction order DST/TMD/SERI/S173 (G).PM acknowledges

Bharat Ratna JRD Tata Scholarship (2018-19).

Conflict of interest

There are no conflicts to declare.

Supporting information

Not applicable

References

[1] B. O'regan, and M. Grätzel, Nature, 1991, 353, 737-740,

doi: 10.1038/353737a0.

[2] A. W. Badawy, J. Adv. Res., 2015, 6, 123-132, doi:

10.1016/j.jare.2013.10.001.

[3] J. Yan, and B. R. Saunders, RSC Adv., 2014, 4, 43286-

43314, doi: 10.1039/C4RA07064J.

[4] S. Rao, A. Morankar, H. Verma, and P. Goswami, J. Appl.

Chem., 2016, 2016, 1-12, doi: 10.1155/2016/3971579.

[5] A.V. Kozytskiy, O. L. Stroyuk, A. E. Raevskaya, and S. Ya

Kuchmy, Theor. Exp. Chem., 2017, 53, 145-179, doi:

10.1007/s11237-017-9512-z.

[6] T. Yoshida, and H. Minoura, Adv. Mater., 2000, 12, 1219-

1222, doi: 10.1002/1521-4095.

[7] A. Kay, and M. Grätzel, Chem. Mater., 2002, 14, 2930-

2935, doi: 10.1021/cm0115968.

[8] M. P. Valkonen, S. Lindroos, T. Kanniainen, M. Leskelä,

U. Tapper, and E. Kauppinen, Appl. Surf. Sci., 1997, 120, 58-

64, doi: 10.1016/S0169-4332(97)00248-1.

[9] Y. F. Nicolau, and J. C. Menard, J. Cryst. Growth, 1998,

92, 128-142, doi: 10.1016/0022-0248(88)90443-5.

[10] K-M. Lee, V. Suryanarayanan, and K-C. Ho, Sol. Energ.

Mat. Sol. C., 2006, 90, 2398-2404, doi:

10.1016/j.solmat.2006.03.034.

[11] M. Pan, N. Huang, X. Zhao, J. Fu, and X. Zhong, J.

Nanomater., 2013, 2013, 760685, doi: 10.1155/2013/760685.

[12] E. Nyankson, B. Agyei-Tuffour, J. Asare, E. Annan, E. R.

Rwenyagila, D. S. Konadu, A. Yaya, and D. Dodoo-Arhin,

Nanostructured TiO2 and their energy applications-a review,

UGSpace, 2013.

[13] R. Chauhan, R. Kushwaha, and L. Bahadur, J. Energy,

2014, 2014, 1-10, doi: 10.1155/2014/517574.

[14] M-R. Gao, Y-F Xu, J. Jiang, and S-H Yu, Chem. Soc. Rev.,

2013, 42, 2986-3017, doi: 10.1039/C2CS35310E.

[15] M. McLaughlin, H. F. Sakeek, P. Maguire, W. G. Graham,

J. Molloy, T. Morrow, S. Laverty, and J. Anderson, Appl. Phys.

Lett., 1993, 63, 1865-1867, doi: 10.1063/1.110656.

[16] X. Wu, F. Lai, L. Lin, J. Lv, B. Zhuang, Q. Yan, and Z.

Huang, Appl. Surf. Sci., 2008, 254, 6455-6460, doi:

10.1016/j.apsusc.2008.04.023.

[17] D. Yoo, M. S. Choi, S. C. Heo, C. Chung, D. Kim, and C.

Choi, Met. Mater. Int., 2013, 19, 1309-1316, doi:

10.1007/s12540-013-6026-7.

[18] C. D. Lokhande, M. S. Jadhav, and S. H. Pawar, J

Electrochem. Soc., 1996, 136, 2756-2757, doi:

10.1149/1.2097587.

[19] J. Fang, P. H. Holloway, J. E. Yu, K. S. Jones, B.

Pathangey, E. Brettschneider, and T. J. Anderson, Appl. Surf.

Sci., 1993, 70, 701-706, doi: 10.1016/0169-4332(93)90605-B.

[20] A. Wei, J. Liu, M. Zhuang, and Y. Zhao, Mat. Sci. Semicon.

Proc., 2013, 16, 1478-1484, doi: 10.1016/j.mssp.2013.03.016.

[21] V. K. Ashith, and K. Gowrish Rao, IOP Conf. Ser. Mater.

Sci. Eng., 2018, 360, 012058, doi: 10.1088/1757-

899X/360/1/012058.

[22] M. Ragam, N. Sankar and K. Ramachandran, AIP Conf.

Proc., 2011, 1349, 411-412, doi: 10.1063/1.3605909.

[23] H. M. Pathan, and C. D. Lokhande, B. Mater. Sci., 2004,

27, 85-111, doi: 10.1007/BF02708491.

ES Energy & Environment Research article

© Engineered Science Publisher LLC 2021 ES Energy. Environ., 2021, 12, 77-85 | 85

[24] A. K. Jana, J. Photoch. Photobio. A, 2000, 132, 1-17, doi:

10.1016/S1010-6030(99)00251-8.

[25] P. K. Basu, N. Saha, S. Maji, H. Saha, and Sukumar Basu,

J. Mater. Sci-Mater. El., 2008, 19, 493-499, doi:

10.1007/s10854-008-9604-6.

[26] M. P. Valkonen, S. Lindroos, T. Kanniainen, M. Leskelä,

U. Tapper, and E. Kauppinen, Appl. Surf. Sci., 1997, 120, 58-

64, doi: 10.1016/S0169-4332(97)00248-1.

[27] R. Sahraei, G. Motedayen Aval, A. Baghizadeh, M.

Lamehi-Rachti, A. Goudarzi, and M. M. Ara, Mater. Lett.,

2008, 62, 4345-4347, doi: 10.1016/j.matlet.2008.07.022.

[28] G. Xu, S. Ji, C. Miao, G. Liu, and C. Ye, J. Mater. Chem.,

2012, 22, 4890-4896, doi: 10.1039/C2JM15908B.

[29] H. M. Pathan, and C. D. Lokhande, B. Mater. Sci., 2004,

27, 85-111, doi: 10.1007/BF02708491.

[30] M. A. Yildirim, A. Ateş, and A. Astam, Physica E, 2009,

41, 1365-1372, doi: 10.1016/j.physe.2009.04.014.

[31] C Y Yeh, Z. W. Lu, S. Froyen, and A. Zunger, Phys. Rev.

B, 1992, 46, 10086, doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.46.10086.

[32] A. Djelloul, M. Adnane, Y. Larbah, and S. Hamzaoui, J.

Optoelectron. Adv. Mater., 2016, 18, 136-141.

[33] A. Djelloul, M. Adnane, Y. Larbah, and S. Hamzaoui, J.

Optoelectron. Adv. Mater., 2016, 18, 136-141, doi:

10.1016/j.solmat.2007.09.005.

[34] H. Wang, and L. M. Peter, J. Phys. Chem. C, 2009, 113,

18125-18133, doi: 10.1021/jp906629t.

[35] M. Adachi, M. Sakamoto, J. Jiu, Y. Ogata, and S. Isoda,

J. Phys. Chem. B, 2006, 110, 13872-13880, doi:

10.1021/jp061693u.

[36] Q. Wang, J-E. Moser, and M Grätzel, J. Phys. Chem. B,

2005, 109, 14945-14953, doi: 10.1021/jp052768h.

[37] H. K. Dunn, P. O. Westin, D. R. Staff, L. M. Peter, A. B.

Walker, G. Boschloo, and A. Hagfeldt, J. Phys. Chem. C, 2001,

115, 13932-13937, doi: 10.1021/jp203296y.

[38] W-C. Chang, C-H Lee, W-C Yu, and C-M Lin, Nanoscale.

Res. Let., 2012, 7, 1-10, doi: 10.1186/1556-276X-7-166.

[39] C. V. Jagtap, V. S. Kadam, and H. M. Pathan, ES Energy

Environ., 2019, 3, 60-67, doi: 10.30919/esee8c220.

Author information

Priyanka M. Mana is a M.Phil.Student at

the Advanced Physics Laboratory,

Department of Physics, Savitribai Phule

Pune University, Pune, India with

Dr.Habib M.Pathan. She received his

master’s degree in Physics from

University of Calicut,Kerala. Her

research interests include Thin films,

Quantum Dots and DSSCs.

Pankaj K. Bhujbal is a research fellow

in Physics at the Advanced Physics

Laboratory, Department of Physics,

Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune,

India with Dr.Habib M. Pathan. He

received his master’s degree in Physics

from the Fergusson college, Pune. His

research interests include Thin films,

Quantum Cascade Laser and DSSCs

Publisher’s Note: Engineered Science Publisher remains

neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps

and institutional affiliations.