A ZnO/TiO2 composite nanorods photoanode with improved performance for dye‐sensitized solar cells

Abstract

A dye‐sensitized solar cell (DSSC) based on ZnO/TiO2 composite nanorods (NRs) photoanode is fabricated. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the ZnO/TiO2 composite NRs film DSSC is 4.36%, which is obviously higher than that of DSSCs based on pure TiO2 NRs (0.6%) and ZnO NRs (3.10%). The enhanced performance of ZnO/TiO2 composite NRs film DSSC can be attributed to the combined effects of ZnO and TiO2 NRs. In this architecture, the thick ZnO NRs overlayer offers a large surface area for enough dye absorption, while the thin TiO2 NRs underlayer not only offers a direct and quick pathway for photoinjected electron transfer along the photoanode but also acts as a blocking layer, which effectively hinders the direct contact between the substrate and the electrolyte resulting in lower carrier recombination.