Photochemical Construction of Photovoltaic Device Composed of p-Copper(I) Oxide and n-Zinc Oxide

The photochemical deposition of a p-type semiconducting copper(I) oxide layer by irradiating visible light in an aqueous solution containing a lactic acid and copper sulfate hydrate is presented. The layer was photochemically stacked on a chemically deposited n-type semiconducting layer/quartz glass substrate, and the photovoltaic device was constructed by forming a Au top electrode using a sputtering technique. The photovoltaic device showed an electrical rectification and the performance of in open-circuit voltage and in short-circuit current density under an Air Mass 1.5 illumination.