Chapter 8 - Dye-Sensitized Nanostructured ZnO Electrodes for Solar Cell Applications

Abstract

This chapter describes dye-sensitized nanostructured ZnO electrodes for solar cell applications. Dye-sensitized nanostructured solar cells (DNSCs) based on nanostructured metal oxide films have attracted much attention in recent years. This chapter explains the schematic representation of the DNSC. The performance of dye-sensitized ZnO solar cells in terms of solar-to-electrical energy conversion efficiencies is so far significantly lower than that of TiO2, reaching currently about 4–5%. An analysis of the energetics and kinetics of ZnO-based DNSCs suggests that this is mainly because of the lesser degree of optimization in case of ZnO compared to TiO2-based DNSCs. A large potential exists to improve on the performance of dye-sensitized ZnO solar cells by learning how to use new types of anchoring groups and controlling the chemistry at the oxide/dye/electrolyte interface. This, in combination with the possibilities to tailor-make ZnO materials, manifests the opportunities for future research and development of these devices.