Comparative Study between Dye-Sensitized and CdS Quantum-Dots-Sensitized TiO2 Solar Cells Using Photoinduced Absorption Spectroscopy

Two 8 μm thick TiO2 photoelectrodes have been sensitized separately by N719 dye molecules and CdS quantum dots for a comparison study. Photoinduced absorption (PIA) spectroscopy was employed to investigate the mechanistic properties of electrons under illumination conditions comparable to sunlight. The PIA spectrum of both electrodes (in the presence of electrolyte) is due to electrons in TiO2 and iodine radicals in the electrolyte. In the absence of redox electrolyte, both electrodes show long-lived photoinduced charge-separation with lifetime in a millisecond range (8.5 ms for Q-dot-sensitized TiO2 and 11.5 ms for dye-sensitized TiO2).