Hydrothermal synthesis and solar cell application studies of nickel doped zinc oxide nanocomposites

Abstract

Abstract Nickel doped zinc oxide nanoparticles are synthesized via a hydrothermal technique at three different temperatures. XRD analysis shows a decrease in grain size with doping at low temperature and an increase in crystallite size at high temperature. Nanoflowers and a mixture of rods and sheets are observed in SEM images. Zinc oxide nanorods wrapped with nickel oxide nano thread and spider web-like structures are clearly visible in TEM micrographs. Doping introduced defects into composites, which enhanced UV and visible absorption. A composite with an excellent photo absorption property and a noted thermal stability is chosen for fabricating solar cell devices by spin coating and doctor blade techniques, which deliver a power conversion efficiency of 3.96% and 2.32% respectively.