Abstract
The development of an artificial photosynthetic system is a promising strategy to convert solar energy into chemical fuels. Herein, we report the facile synthesis of WO3/CdS heterostructures as high-performance photoanodes for dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The ability of the composite to produce current after the removal of incident light was linked to the trapping of photo excited electrons by the WO3 portion. Further it was analyzed using XPS, PL, and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy characterization techniques. SEM and TEM results suggest that individual spherical shaped nanoparticles sizes in the range of 20-25 nm was uniformly decorated on the outer surface of WO3 nanotubes. The photo-conversion efficiency of 9.95% was obtained with the configuration WO3/CdS (100 mg) that represent a 2.5-fold increment compared to bare WO3 (4.21%) as well as commercial Pt (5.01%). The experimental results are discussed in detail. CdS could significantly improve the light absorption ability in the visible light region and rapid production of charge carriers in the WO3 photoanode. This study could also provide a new train of thought on designing of heterostructure photoanode with photovoltaic properties, promoting the applications of solar energy.