synthesis and characterization of graphene-zno nanocomposite and its application in photovoltaic cells

in this paper, we present a simple method for preparation of graphene-zno nanocomposites (g-zno). the method is based on thermal treatment of the graphene oxide (go)/zno paste which reduces the graphene oxide into the graphene and leads to the formation of the g-zno nanocomposite. the structure, morphology and optical properties of synthesized nanocomposites are characterized with xrd, fesem, ftir and raman spectroscopies. here cds quantum dots are deposited on g-zno nanocomposite structure and is integrated as a photoanode in cds quantum dot sensitized solar cells (qdsscs). photovoltaic properties of cds qdssc based on bare zno nanoparticles and g-zno nanocomposite photoanodes are studied here. the cell with g-zno/cds photoanode shows two times higher photoelectric conversion efficiency than that of the pure zno photoanode (0.94 vs. 0.45).