DOI: https://doi.org/10.55373/mjchem.v28i1.442

Keywords: Photolysis method, Tartrazine yellow dye, photo-sensitizer, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), hybrid NiS–SrO nanostructures

Abstract

In this work, NiS, SrO, and their hybrid NiS–SrO nanostructures were fabricated via photolysis and subsequently used as photo-anodes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The electrolyte depended on an iodide/triiodide redox pair, the counter electrode was constructed from a CNT–FeS nanocomposite, and the photo-sensitizer was tartrazine yellow dye. A structural analysis reveals that the resulting nanostructures possess morphological features particularly advantageous for intense light absorption and rapid charge transport, with crystallites in the 16–21 nm range. According to photovoltaic tests, the NiS-based cell pushed the conversion efficiency up to roughly 2.9%, whereas the SrO-based cell just scraped a 2.25% conversion efficiency due to its conductivity. The binary between NiS and SrO is responsible for the remarkable increase in efficiency of the NiS–SrO nanocomposite device, which reached 3.25%. While SrO works as an electron blocking barrier to prevent charge recombination at the electrode–electrolyte interface, the NiS phase acts as a courier, speeding up charge transport and snagging more dye molecules. The information presented in this work highlights how the NiS–SrO nanocomposite is gradually establishing a position as a photo-anode material for constructing stable DSSCs.