Morphological and structural study on low cost SnO2 counter electrode and its applications in quantum dot sensitized solar cells with polysulfide electrolyte

[Display omitted] •Stable and low-cost SnO2 counter electrode for quantum dot sensitized solar cells with polysulfide electrolyte has revealed.•13.48 µm thick SnO2 CE sintered at 450 °C for 45 min gives the best solar cell performances.•Impressive 43% in efficiency enhancement in CdS sensitized solar cells in comparison with Pt-based devices. Fabrication of efficient CdS quantum dot sensitized solar cell with a novel stable counter electrode based on a thin film of SnO2 is revealed. The film was characterized by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), High-Resolution Tunneling Microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV–Visible spectroscopic techniques. Photovoltaic performances and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopic techniques (EIS) were performed on FTO/TiO2/CdS/polysulfide/SnO2/FTO device under the light illumination of 100 mW cm−2 and comparison was done with the conventional Pt counter electrode. Impressive 43 % efficiency enhancement in these solar cells was achieved compared with the Pt based devices. Porous thick nanostructure of SnO2 with crystal defects such as oxygen vacancies and Sn vacancies arising from lattice structures as confirmed by SEM, Raman and, XRD spectroscopy could be some of the reasons for this enhancement. Excellent photo enhanced electrocatalytic activity against the polysulfide electrolyte is confirmed by EIS and Cyclic Voltammetry studies.