Enhanced Photovoltaic Performance of BiSCl Solar Cells through Nanorod Array

BiSCl single-crystalline nanofibers were synthesized by a facile one-pot solvothermal approach for the first time. BiSCl possesses a double chain type structure and grows readily along the c-axis, resulting the fibrous morphology. UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy revealed that BiSCl nanofibers exhibit a strong light absorption in a wavelength range from UV to visible light, corresponding to a bandgap of 1.96 eV. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations revealed that BiSCl is a direct n-type semiconductor with valence band maximum and conduction band minimum located at 6.04 and 4.08 eV below the vacuum level, respectively. To investigate the photovoltaic performance, the homogeneous thin film of BiSCl-nanorod array was fabricated on a TiO2 porous film by a modified solvothermal process, where the nanorod array is oriented vertically to the surface of the TiO2 porous film. A proper band alignment of BiSCl-based solar cells with an architecture of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)/TiO2/BiSCl/(I-3(-)/I-)/Pt gave a PCE of 1.36 % and a relatively large short-circuit photocurrent density of 9.87 mA cm(-2) for the first time. The preliminary photovoltaic study result revealed a potential possibility of BiSCl-nanorod array as a light absorber for solar cells that can be fabricated by the low-cost solution process.