Synthesis of CuCo2S4 nanosheets and its application in dye-sensitized solar cells

CuCo2S4, a ternary sulfide and an eco-friendly thiospinel that occurs naturally as a mineral named Carrollite, has been synthesized successfully in ambient conditions at low temperatures using ultrasonication. It has yet to be reported, but the nanosheet structure obtained from the ultrasonication synthesis method employed as a counter electrode in the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) has been demonstrated. The purity, crystallinity, morphology, and structure were explored thoroughly through the medium of XRD, SEM, TEM, SAED, and EDAX, and along with this, the presence of metal sulfide bond was investigated with the FT-IR and Raman spectra, which altogether confirmed the formation of CuCo2S4 nanosheet. The as-prepared nanosheets of CuCo2S4 have shown excellent homogeneity, as expected. Also, the presence of sulfur in the synthesized CuCo2S4, which is a highly polarizable atom and of a smaller size exhibiting a higher surface area, demonstrates higher electrocatalytic activity when fabricated as a counter-electrode in DSSCs by providing an incredible short circuit current density of 31.05 mA cm(-2), open circuit potential of 735 mV with good fill factor value which altogether resulted in the power conversion efficiency of 10.21 % nearer to DSSC fabricated with Platinum counter electrode under the same conditions.