• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.988-993
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• 2004

Luminescence characteristics of Ag-doped ZnO as the quantum dot materials to increasing the efficiency on dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC) have been studied. Ag doped ZnO powder was produced by the self-sustaining combustion process using ultrasonic spraying heating method. Luminescence wavelength region of the ZnO by Ag doping was shifted to longer wavelength. Tn the case of the Ag doped ZnO powder, broad luminescence spectrum centered on 600nm was observed. On the other hand, we compared PL data of RTA treated ZnO:Ag film at various temperatures because the front electrode of solar cell was in need of the sintering process. In XRD and PL data for RTA treated film at the 500$^{\circ}C$ showed good property. And, it was found that the grain size wasn't growing but only optical property was changed. According to the result of XRD, PL, absorption, emission spectrum and DV-X${\alpha}$ used in theoretical calculation, it is considered to be possible to use Ag doped ZnO as quantum dot material for improving DSC efficiency.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.126-129
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• 2015

Over the last two decades, quantum dot (QD) solar cells have attracted much attention due to the unique properties of QDs, including band gap tunability, slow hot electron cooling, and multiple exiton generation effect. However, most of the QDs employed in photovoltaic devices contain toxic heavy-metals such as cadmium or lead, which may limit the commercial application. Therefore, recently, heavy-metal-free QDs such as Cu-In-S or Cu-In-Se have been developed for application in solar cells. Here, we review the research trends in heavy-metal-free QD solar cells, mainly focusing on Cu-In-Se QD-sensitized solar cells (QDSC).

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.953-958
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• 2007

Anchoring quantum dots (QDs) onto thermodynamically stable, large band gap oxide semiconductors is a very important strategy to enhance their quantum yields for solar energy conversion in both visible and near-IR regions. We describe a general procedure for anchoring a few chalcogenide QDs onto the titanium oxide layer. To anchor the colloidal QDs onto a mesoporous TiO2 layer, linker molecules containing both carboxylate and thiol functional groups were initially attached to TiO2 layers and subsequently used to capture dispersed QDs with the thiol group. Employing the procedure, we exploited cadmium selenide (CdSe) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots (QDs) as inorganic sensitizers for a large band gap TiO2 layer of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Their attachment was confirmed by naked eyes, absorption spectra, and photovoltaic effects. A few QD-TiO2 systems thus obtained have been characterized for photoelectrochemical solar energy conversion.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.2895-2900
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• 2014

We fabricated quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) using cadmium sulfide (CdS) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots (QDs) as sensitizers. A spin coated $TiO_2$ nanoparticle (NP) film on tin-doped indium oxide glass and sputtered Au on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass were used as photo-anode and counter electrode, respectively. CdS QDs were deposited onto the mesoporous $TiO_2$ layer by a successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method. Pre-synthesized CdTe QDs were deposited onto a layer of CdS QDs using a direct adsorption technique. CdS/CdTe QDSSCs had high light harvesting ability compared with CdS or CdTe QDSSCs. QDSSCs incorporating single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), sprayed onto the substrate before deposition of the next layer or mixed with $TiO_2$ NPs, mostly exhibited enhanced photo cell efficiency compared with the pristine cell. In particular, a maximum rate increase of 24% was obtained with the solar cell containing a $TiO_2$ layer mixed with SWNTs.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2014.11a
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• pp.273-273
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• 2014

Quantum-dot sensitized solar cells (QDSCs) are an emerging class of solar cells owing to their easy fabrication, low cost and material diversity. Despite of the fact that the maximum conversion efficiency of QDSCs is still far less than that of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (>12 %), their unique characteristics like Multiple Exciton Generation (MEG), energy band tune-ability and tendency to incorporate multiple co-sensitizers concurrently has made QDs a suitable alternative to expensive dyes for solar cell application. Lead Sulfide (PbS) Quantum dot sensitized solar cells are theoretically proficient enough to have a photo-current density ($J_{sc}$) of $36mA/cm^2$, but practically there are very few reports on photocurrent enhancement in PbS QDSCs. Recently, $Hg^{2+}$ incorporated PbS quantumdots and Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) co-sensitized PbS solarcells are reported to show an improvement in photo-current density ($J_{sc}$). In this study, we explored the efficacy of $In_2S_3$ as an interfacial layer deposited through SILAR process for PbS QDSCs. $In_2S_3$ was chosen as the interfacial layer in order to avoid the usage of hazardous CdS or Mercury (Hg). Herein, the deposition of $In_2S_3$ interfacial layer on $TiO_2$ prior to PbS QDs exhibited a direct enhancement in the photo-current (Isc). Improved photo-absorption as well as interfacial recombination barrier caused by $In_2S_3$ deposition increased the photo-current density ($J_{sc}$) from $13mA/cm^2$ to $15.5mA/cm^2$ for single cycle of $In_2S_3$ deposition. Increase in the number of cycles of $In_2S_3$ deposition was found to deteriorate the photocurrent, however it increased $V_{oc}$ of the device which reached to an optimum value of 2.25% Photo-conversion Efficiency (PCE) for 2 cycles of $In_2S_3$ deposition. Effect of Heat Treatment, Normalized Current Stability, Open Circuit Voltage Decay and Dark IV Characteristics were further measured to reveal the characteristics of device.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.3183-3184
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• 2013

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.16-22
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• 2021

In this study, quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSC) using CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QD) of various sizes with green, yellow, and red colors are developed. Quantum dots, depending their different sizes, have advantages of absorbing light of various wavelengths. This absorption of light of various wavelengths increases the photocurrent production of solar cells. The absorption and emission peaks and excellent photochemical properties of the synthesized quantum dots are confirmed through UV-visible and photoluminescence (PL) analysis. In TEM analysis, the average sizes of individual green, yellow, and red quantum dots are shown to be 5 nm, 6 nm, and 8 nm. The J-V curves of QDSSC for one type of QD show a current density of 1.7 mA/㎠ and an open-circuit voltage of 0.49 V, while QDSSC using three type of QDs shows improved electrical characteristics of 5.52 mA/㎠ and 0.52 V. As a result, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of QDSSC using one type of QD is as low as 0.53 %, but QDSSC using three type of QDs has a measured efficiency of 1.4 %.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.257-261
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• 2007

The electronic properties of quantum dots can be tuned by changing the size of particles without any change in their chemical composition. CdSe quantum dots, the sizes of which were controlled by changing the concentrations of Cd and Se precursors, were adsorbed on $TiO_2$ photoelectrodes and used as sensitizers for photovoltaic cells. For applications of CdSe quantum dot as sensitizers, $CdSe/TiO_2$ films on conducting glass were employed in a sandwich-type cell that incorporated a platinum-coated conductive glass and an electrolyte consisting of an $I^-/I_3^-$ redox. The fill factor (FF) and efficiency for energy conversion ($\c{c}$) of the photovoltaic cell was 62 % and 0.32 %, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.370-370
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• 2011

ZnO 나노 라드 위에 Quantum dot을 형성하고 최종적으로 TiO2를 Atomic Layer Deposition방법으로 증착하여, 그 passivation 효과가 solar cell의 효율에 미친 영향에 대한 실험을 진행하였다. 암모니아 솔루션을 이용한 Hydrothermal 방법으로 수직한 1차원 형태의 ZnO 나노라드를 TCO 기판 위에 성장시킨다. 여기에 잘 알려진 SILAR와 CBD 방법으로 CdS, CdSe 양자점을 증착한다. 그리고 amorphous TiO2로 표면을 덮는 과정을 거치는데, TiO2가 좁은 간격으로 형성된 ZnO라드 구조 위에서 균일하고 정밀하게 증착되도록 하기 위해 Atomic Layer Deposition을 이용하였다. 사용된 precursor는 Titanium isopropoxide와 H2O이며, 실험상에서 0~5 nm 두께의 TiO2 박막을 형성해 보았다. 다양한 분석 방법을 통해 TiO2/QDs/ZnO의 shell-shell-core 구조를 조사했다. (Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS)). 이를 solar cell에 적용하고 I-V curve를 통해 그 효율을 확인하였으며, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS)를 통해서 재결합 측면에서 나타나는 변화 양상을 확인하였다.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.785-791
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• 2023

Copper sulfide (Cu_xS) has been extensively utilized as a counter electrode (CE) material for quantum dot solar cells (QDSCs) due to its exceptional catalytic activity for polysulfide electrolytes. The typical fabrication method of Cu₂S CEs based on brass substrate is dangerous, involving the use of a highly concentrated hydrochloric acid solution in a relatively high temperature. In contrast, electroplating presents a safer alternative by employing a less acidic solution at a room temperature. In addition, the electroplating method increases the probability of obtaining CEs of consistent quality compared to the brass method. In this study, the optimized electroplating cycle for CuS CEs in QDSCs has been studied for the highly efficient photovoltaic performances. The QDSCs, featuring electroplated CuS CEs, achieved an impressive efficiency of 7.18%, surpassing the conventional method employing brass CEs, which yielded an efficiency of 6.62%.