Journal of Solar Energy Research

Boosting Sustainable Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) Performance via Copper-Doped Manganese Sulfide Nanoparticles: A Comparative Study

Document Type : Research Article

Author

Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Diyala, Diyala, Iraq.

Abstract

This study demonstrates a significant enhancement in the performance of sustainable dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) through the integration of copper-doped manganese sulfide (MnS:Cu) nanoparticles as photoanodes. Undoped, 1% Cu, and 3% Cu-doped MnS nanoparticles were synthesized via a facile co-precipitation method. X-ray diffraction confirmed a nano-crystalline structure, with the crystallite size on the (200) plane increasing from 12.60 nm (undoped) to 14.37 nm (3% Cu). Critically, copper doping induced a reduction in the optical band gap from 3.4 eV to 3.2 eV, enhancing light harvesting. Morphological analysis revealed a transformation from large, flat islands (undoped) to a uniform layer of smaller, spherical nano-grains (~43 nm for 3% Cu), which improved dye loading and light scattering. Consequently, the power conversion efficiency of the fabricated DSSCs increased substantially with doping concentration, yielding 0.455%, 0.624%, and 0.905% for undoped, 1% Cu, and 3% Cu-doped MnS-based cells, respectively, under standard illumination (100 mW cm⁻², AM 1.5G). This work establishes Cu-doping as a highly effective strategy for tailoring the properties of MnS nanoparticles for efficient solar energy conversion.

Keywords

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Journal of Solar Energy Research
Volume 11, Issue 1
January 2026
Pages 2891-2902