Microwave synthesis and characterization of Sb^sub 2^S^sub 3^@NiS nanocomposites and investigation of its solar cell application through the electrophoresis deposition method

Nanocomposites as the high performance materials demonstrate the unusual property combinations and unique design possibilities. Moreover, their potentials are so striking because they are useful in several areas ranging from energy to biomedical applications; therefore, in this research, nickel sulfide (NiS) nanoparticles, antimony trisulphide (Sb2S3) nanorods, and Sb2S3@NiS nanocomposites were successfully synthesized through the facile microwave method. Besides, mercapturic acid (TGA) was introduced as a capping agent, sulfur source, and solvent. Furthermore, to examined solar cell application of as synthesized Sb2S3, NiS, and Sb2S3@NiS nanocomposites three solar cell structures such as FTO/TiO2/Sb2S3/Pt-FTO, FTO/TiO2/NiS/Pt-FTO, and FTO/TiO2/Sb2S3@NiS/Pt-FTO were performed by directly deposited Sb2S3, NiS, and Sb2S3@NiS nanocomposites film on top of the TiO2 thin film. In addition, based on the vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), the as-synthesized Sb2S3@NiS nanocomposites indicated a ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature. The composition and structure of final products were characterized by X-ray diffraction XRD, EDS, VSM, and SEM.