Applied Chemical Engineering

Preparation and comparison of the performance of (CuO) nanostructures and (CuO)/(CdS) composites as anode electrodes in DSSCs using the natural dye of chard

Naseer Ali Badr

College of Science, University of Kufa, College of Science, University of Kufa,Kufa, 540011, Iraq

Amer.M. J. Al-Shamari

College of Science, University of Kufa, College of Science, University of Kufa,Kufa, 540011, Iraq

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59429/ace.v8i3.5713

Keywords: Chemical synthesis; CuO; CuO/CdS; nanostructures; semiconductors; DSSCs; solar cell; transmission electron microscopy (TEM)

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Abstract

In this research, copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles and copper oxide/cadmium sulfate (CuO/CdS) nanocomposite were prepared and used to construct dye-sensitized DSSCs, which were used as photoelectrodes using a natural dye prepared from chard as an adsorption medium (green dye) due to its low cost and availability in nature. The study indicated that the green dye performs better in DSSCs with CuO nanoparticles than in those with CuO/CdS nanocomposites, based on efficiency measurements using the Keithley apparatus. The power conversion efficiency (η) of CuO was 0.175%, while that of CdS was 0.141%. The current measured for both cells was 108.7 mA for CuO and 28.7 mA for CuO/CdS

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