Synthesis and application in solar cell of poly(3-octylthiophene)/cadmium sulfide nanocomposite

A conducting polymer composite, poly(3-octylthiophene)/cadmium sulfide (POT/CdS) was first synthesized. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) depict the morphology of the samples, defining that CdS was successfully coated by poly(3-octylthiophene) molecules. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and infrared spectroscopy (IR) show that there is a chemical interaction in the composite. The energy gap of the POT/CdS composite is lower at 0.824 eV, which also shows that the optical performance of the new material is far superior to POT or CdS separately, by ultraviolet–visible spectra (UV–vis). Solar cell was sensitized by POT/CdS. A solar-to-electric energy conversion efficiency of 0.581% was attained with the system. The results show that POT/CdS nanocomposites are promising materials with excellent performance characteristics in photoelectric applications.