Improving Electron Transfer from Dye to TiO2 by Using CdTe Nanostructure Layers in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

In this work, TiO2 P25 was deposited successfully on the FTO glass by electrophoresis method. Different chemical methods were served for deposition of nanosized CdTe such as successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) and drop-cast. Dye-sensitized solar cells were fabricated from prepared electrodes, Pt as a counter electrode, dye solution, and electrolyte. The effects of chemical deposition methods were investigated on the surface quality, optical properties, and solar cell efficiency. It was observed that deposition method has an important role on the solar cell performance. It was also seen that deposition method affects directly on surface thickness and the amount of dye adsorption. In fact, each deposition method creates different surfaces, and hence, they act variously in electron transfer across the electrode surface. Among different deposition methods that were used in this experimental work, SILAR method showed the best performance and the surface that was created by this method could transfer the electrons across the electrode faster than the other ones. But this chemical method cannot improve solar cell efficiency due to some different reasons that we mentioned in this paper.