In this work, the one-pot process was employed to synthesize
polyaniline/cadmium
sulfide hybrid nanocomposite. Herein, for the first time, we report
a comprehensive study from the synthesis of the raw materials to the
photovoltaic cell performance investigation including the synthesis
of the polyaniline/cadmium sulfide hybrid nanocomposite through a
one-pot process, a morphology study, the fabrication of a hybrid organic/inorganic
solar cell, and the evaluation of the cell performance. To this end,
the CdS-to-PANI weight ratio was considered as a key parameter, and
0, 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 40% were used as the CdS values. FTIR,
XRD, and FESEM analyses confirmed that the presence of CdS in the
PANI nanotubular network affected the morphology of the hybrid nanocomposite,
and changing the CdS-to-PANI ratio tuned the nanotubular network morphology
from coarse to fine. UV–visible absorption spectrum studies
validated the reduction of PANI bandgap due to the presence of CdS.
Likewise, the conductivity of the nanocomposites was also improved
compared to neat PANI due to the increasing of charge density. These
controlled-morphology nanocomposites were used for organic/inorganic
hybrid solar cells based on the configuration of the FTO/ZnO/CdS@PANI/Ag
device, and the morphology effects on their performance were investigated.
When CdS was incorporated in the PANI nanotubular network, J
SC and efficiency increased by, respectively,
4.471 mA·cm–1 and 1.87%. This means a 22-fold
increase in J
SC and a 1700-fold increase
in the solar cell based on 20%CdS@PANI compared to those in the solar
cell made with pure PANI. In short, by using the one-pot process,
it is possible to hierarchically ensure better control of the morphology
of organic and inorganic components, increasing the light absorption
edge, reducing the bandgap, and improving the photovoltaic performance
of CdS@PANI organic–inorganic hybrid nanocomposites.