Design of Mn-doped CdxZn1-xSe@ZnO triple-shelled hollow microspheres for quantum dots sensitized solar cells with improved photovoltaic performance

Mn-Cd x Zn 1-x Se@ZnO multi-shelled (including single-shelled, double-shelled, and triple-shelled) hollow microspheres (HMS) were successfully synthesized for application in quantum dots sensitized solar cell (QDSSC). The influence of shell numbers on photovoltaic performance of QDSSC were investigated. The results showed that larger surface area, repeated light reflection and reinforced light scattering can be achieved with triple-shelled HMS, which can improve light harvesting efficiency. Furthermore, midgap state created by Mn-doping in Cd x Zn 1-x Se will facilitate electrons injection and collection from excited Cd x Zn 1-x Se quantum dots (QDs) to ZnO. The multi-shelled effects and Mn-doping finally improve the short-circuit current (J sc ) of Mn-Cd x Zn 1-x Se@ZnO tripled-shelled HMS solar cell to 20.21 mA cm −2 , leading to the power conversion efficiency significantly enhanced to 3.39%.