02 M Pb(NO3)2 methanol solution for 2 min then dipped into 0.02 M Na2S solution (obtained by dissolving Na2S in methanol/water with volume ratios Temsirolimus chemical structure of 1:1) for another 5 min. This entire SILAR process was repeated from 1 to 10 cycles to achieve the desired thickness of PbS nanoparticle

layer. Similarly, for the CdS LY2603618 price nanoparticle layer, Cd2+ ions were deposited from a 0.05 M Cd(NO3)2 ethanol solution, and the sulfide sources were 0.05 M Na2S in methanol/water (50/50 v/v). For the hybrid PbS/CdS co-sensitized samples, the CdS deposition was carried out immediately after PbS deposition. The samples are labeled as PbS(X)/CdS(Y)-TiO2, where X and Y refer to the number of PbS and CdS SILAR cycles, respectively. Characterization The crystal structure of the CdS-TiO2 and PbS-TiO2 samples were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD; XD-3, PG Instruments Ltd., Beijing, China) with Cu Kα radiation (λ = 0.154 nm) at a scan rate of 2°/min. X-ray tube voltage and current were set at 40 kV and 30 mA, respectively. The surface morphology and the cross section of the CdS-TiO2, PbS-TiO2, and PbS/CdS-TiO2 nanostructures were examined by a field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM; FEI Sirion, FEI Company, Hillsboro, OR, USA). Solar cell assembly and performance measurement The solar cells were assembled using the CdS-TiO2, PbS-TiO2, and PbS/CdS-TiO2 nanostructures

as the photoanodes, respectively. Pt counter electrodes were prepared by depositing 20-nm Pt film on FTO glass using a magnetron sputtering. A 60-μm-thick

MK-0457 research buy sealing material (SX-1170-60, Solaronix SA, Aubonne, Switzerland) was pasted onto the Pt counter electrodes. The Pt counter electrode and a nanostructure photoanode were sandwiched and sealed with the conductive sides facing inward. A polysulfide electrolyte was injected into the space between two electrodes. The polysulfide electrolyte was composed of 0.1 M sulfur, 1 M Na2S, and 0.1 M NaOH, which were dissolved in methanol/water (7:3 v/v) and stirred at 60°C for 1 h. A solar simulator (model 94022A, Newport, OH, USA) with an AM1.5 filter was used to illuminate the working solar cell at light intensity of 1 sun (100 mW/cm2). A sourcemeter (2400, Keithley Instruments Inc., Cleveland, OH, USA) DCLK1 was used for electrical characterization during the measurements. The measurements were carried out with respect to a calibrated OSI standard silicon solar photodiode. Results and discussion Morphology and crystal structure of the nanostructured photoanodes Figure 1a shows the typical FESEM images of TiO2 nanorod arrays on an FTO-coated glass substrate, confirming that the FTO-coated glass substrate was uniformly covered with ordered TiO2 nanorods. The density of nanorods was approximately 20 nanorods/μm2 with suitable space for deposition of PbS and CdS nanoparticles.