Effect of zinc and indium doping in chalcogenide (CdS/Te) nanocomposites towards dye-sensitized solar cell applications

Transitional metal chalcogenides have recently received a lot of attention due to their tuneable band gaps and optoelectronic properties, which make them suitable candidates for energy conversion applications. In this work, we prepared undoped, zinc (Zn2+), and indium (In3+) doped cadmium sulphide/telluride (CST) nanocomposites (NCs) from chalcogenide materials by hydrothermal method for dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) applications. The structural, morphological, and optical properties of undoped and doped CST NCs are studied. The XRD results confirmed the polycrystalline nature of CST NCs with hexagonal phase. Further SEM and HRTEM measurements were used to investigate the morphology of the samples. The optical bandgap of the nanocomposites varied (1.99 eV–2.30 eV), with respect to type and concentration of doping elements. Current-voltage (I–V) characteristics showed higher power conversion efficiency for Zn (3%) and In (1%) doped CST NCs. This shows that doping play a crucial role in enhancing the DSSC performance and the observed results were discussed. [Display omitted] •Cationic Zn2+ and In3+ doped chalcogen based CdS/Te nanocomposities were synthesized by low-temperature hydrothermal method.•The structural, morphological and optical properties are studied towards the DSSC applications.•The dopants are enhanced the photoconversion efficiency of CST NCs and the role of indium and zinc impurities are also discussed.