Solar Cell Efficiency Enhancement Via Mulberry Molasses-Based Carbon Quantum Dot-Supported CdS and CdS-Mn Nanomaterials

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to fabricate novel mulberry molasses-based carbon quantum dot supported cadmium sulphide (CQD@CdS) and cadmium sulphide-manganese (CQD@CdS-Mn) nanomaterials and to investigate the feasibility of using these nanomaterials as sensitizers to improve the efficiency of solar cells. Methods: The fabrication of mulberry molasses-based CQDs, CQD@CdS and CQD@CdS-Mn nanomaterials was carried out by the hydrothermal method. The as-prepared CQD@CdS and CQD@CdS-Mn nanomaterials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) techniques. Results: The successful preparation of CQD@CdS and CQD@CdS-Mn nanomaterials was confirmed by XRD, TEM, FTIR, BET, XPS and UV-Vis analyses. The obtained results revealed remarkably encouraging trends in terms of energy conversion efficiency. Specifically, the solar cells incorporating the CQD@CdS nanomaterial exhibited an efficiency value of 2.17%. Equally noteworthy, the solar cells incorporating the CQD@CdS-Mn nanomaterials demonstrated a higher efficiency of 2.33%. Conclusions: Our study marks a significant advancement in the synthesis and characterization of mulberry molassesbased carbon quantum dots (CQDs) supported CdS and CdS-Mn nanomaterials for solar cell applications. The efficiency values obtained for CQD@CdS and CQD@CdS-Mn nanomaterials, 2.17% and 2.33% respectively, underscore their potential as promising sensitizers in photovoltaic devices.