Effect of growth temperature and time on the ZnO film properties and the performance of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC)

Abstract

This paper reports the synthesis of ZnO nanorods via seed-mediated growth hydrothermal technique and their application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The growth process was carried out at various temperatures, namely 60, 70, 80, and 90 °C for 8 h at 0.1 M zinc acetate dehydrate (ZAD) to investigate the effect of growth temperature on the property of ZnO sample and on the performance of the DSSC-containing ZnO sample. The growth process was also carried out at various growth times, namely 2, 4, 6, and 8 h at 90 °C at 0.1 M ZAD to investigate the effect of growth time on the property of ZnO sample and on the performance of the DSSC. It was found that the morphology of ZnO nanorods in terms of grain size and length increases with the growth temperature. The peak intensity of XRD patterns, crystallite size, optical absorption, and photocurrent also increase with the growth temperature. The optical absorption and power conversion efficiency (η) increase as the growth time increases. The DSSC utilizing the ZnO nanorods synthesized at 90 °C for 8 h demonstrates the JSC, VOC, FF and η of 1.860 mA cm−2, 0.52 V, 0.287, and 0.277 %, respectively.