The effect of CdS on the charge separation and recombination dynamics in PbS/CdS double-layered quantum dot sensitized solar cells

Quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) have attracted much interest due to their theoretical efficiency, predicted to be as high as 44%. However, the energy conversion efficiency of QDSSCs is still a lot lower than the theoretical value, one reason for which is the number of surface defects on the QDs. In order to improve the conversion efficiency, surface passivation of the QDs has been applied to QDSSCs. Studying the mechanism of how the surface passivation influences the photoexcited carrier dynamics is very important. In this paper, we clarify the effects of CdS passivation on electron injection, trapping and recombination in CdS passivated PbS QDSSCs (called PbS/CdS double-layered QDSSCs). We found that electron trapping and recombination can be suppressed effectively, and that the electron injection efficiency can be increased significantly by surface passivation with CdS on PbS QDSSCs. Our findings provide a better understanding of the effects of surface passivation on QDSSCs, which will prove beneficial for making further improvements in the photovoltaic properties of QDSSCs.