Abstract
Au-doped ZnO–samarium nitrate (Sm) nanoparticles with fixed concentrations of Sm (1 wt %) and various concentrations of Au (0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 wt %) were prepared and used as photoelectrodes to enhance the photovoltaic efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The cell fabricated with 1.5 wt % of Au-doped ZnO–Sm nanoparticles film achieved an optimal efficiency of 4.35%, which is about 76% higher than that of 0.0 wt % of Au-doped ZnO–Sm-based cell (2.47%). This increase might be due to the formation of a blocking layer at the ZnO–Sm/Au interface, which inhibits the recombination of electrons. This increase may also be attributed to the addition of rare-earth ions in ZnO to enhance the non-absorbable wavelength region of light via up/down-conversion of near-infrared and ultraviolet radiations to visible emission and reduce the recombination loss of electron in the cell. The efficiency of cells may be increased by the blocking layer and up/down-conversion process and thus promote the overall performance of the cells. This work indicates that Au-doped ZnO–Sm nanoparticle films have the potential to increase the performance of DSSCs.
Highlights
Nanoparticles are relatively vital due to their higher optical, physical and chemical properties
= 7.02, η = 3.26) compared with the cell fabricated with 0.0 wt % of Au-doped ZnO–samarium nitrate (Sm) widening of the absorption region of the cell is the main reason for enhancing the light to (i.e., JSC = 6.96, η = 2.47%) due to the presence of Au, which acts as blocking layer to dethe power conversion efficiency of Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs)
[25] because the dye N719 have strong absorption around 550 nm [24]. This widening of the absorption region of the cell is the main reason for enhancing the light to the power conversion efficiency of DSSCs
Summary
Nanoparticles are relatively vital due to their higher optical, physical and chemical properties. The greater part of the electromagnetic spectrum consists of ultraviolet (UV) and nearinfrared (NIR) light [14] It means 50% of solar irradiation in the UV and NIR regions is not utilized by ZnO-based DSSCs. An effective way to control these drawbacks of ZnO is doping with other materials. Many publications have been published [27,28,29,30] showing doping of Au/Sm/Eu/Ce in ZnO/TiO2 separately The doping of these materials indicates the fast transfer of charge, increased charge separation and utilization of non-absorbable wavelength regions of UV and NIR radiations through the up/down-conversion process. None of these reports explain the combined effect of Au and Sm doping in ZnO (Au-doped ZnO–Sm)-based. ZnO-based DSSCs and improves the overall performance of the device
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