Cu-doped ZnO nanoporous film for improved performance of CdS/CdSe quantum dot-sensitized solar cells

•Cu-doped ZnO powders were synthesized by co-precipitation method.•Cu-doped ZnO nanoporous films with high crystallinity were uniformly deposited.•Absorbance of Cu-doped ZnO nanoporous film was enhanced.•Electron conductivity of Cu-doped ZnO nanoporous film was enhanced.•Performance of Cu-doped ZnO CdS/CdSe QDSSC was improved.

Copper (Cu) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) powders were synthesized by co-precipitation method with different at% (0 and 0.5 at%) of Cu dopant. Cu-doped ZnO nanoporous (NP) films were fabricated to enhance the performance of the ZnO based cadmium sulfide (CdS) and cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). The existence of Cu ions in the Cu-doped ZnO NP film was detected by X-ray fluorescence. The surface morphology, microstructure and crystal structure of Cu-doped ZnO NP films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The optical property of CdS/CdSe co-sensitized Cu-doped ZnO NP film was studied by UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. The photovoltaic performance and electrical property of Cu-doped ZnO CdS/CdSe QDSSCs were studied by current–voltage characteristic curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy under air mass 1.5 condition. As a result, short circuit current density and fill factor increased from 9.074 mA/cm2 and 0.403 to 9.865 mA/cm2 and 0.427 respectively, based on the enhanced absorbance and electron transport by Cu-doping. This led to the increasing light conversion efficiency from 2.27% to 2.61%.