Abstract
The one-step hydrothermal method was used to synthesize Sn-doped TiO2 (Sn-TiO2) thin films, in which the variation in Sn content ranged from 0 to 7-wt % and, further, its influence on the performance of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) photoanode was studied. The deposited samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy, which confirmed the existence of the rutile phase of the synthesized samples with crystallite size ranges in between 20.1 to 22.3 nm. In addition, the bare and Sn-TiO2 thin films showed nanorod morphology. A reduction in the optical band gap from 2.78 to 2.62 eV was observed with increasing Sn content. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirmed Sn4+ was successfully replaced at the Ti4+ site. The 3-wt % Sn-TiO2 based DSSC showed the optimum efficiency of 4.01%, which was superior to 0.87% of bare and other doping concentrations of Sn-TiO2 based DSSCs. The present work reflects Sn-TiO2 as an advancing material with excellent capabilities, which can be used in photovoltaic energy conversion devices.
Highlights
TiO2 plays a very important role in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) as it provides a high surface for adsorption of dye, acquiring electrons from the excited dye state, and quickly transferring to fluorinedoped tin oxide (FTO)
Since TiO2 possesses a large bandgap of about 3.2 eV, it cannot be efficiently used in the visible light region but is more sensitive to the ultraviolet region
Sn-doped TiO2 thin films were prepared by a single-step hydrothermal route by varying the Sn concentration in TiO2
Summary
Nanostructured, nanoporous semiconducting metal oxides with large surface areas and high diffusion rates are exclusively utilized as photoanode materials in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) [1]. Due to their cost-effectiveness, ease of manufacturing, and higher light conversion efficiency, DSSCs have become important alternatives to traditional silicon solar cells [2,3]. Various metal oxide semiconductors, such as ZnO, TiO2 , Nb2 O5 , and SnO2 , have been explored as photoanode materials for the development of high-performance. TiO2 plays a very important role in DSSCs as it provides a high surface for adsorption of dye, acquiring electrons from the excited dye state, and quickly transferring to fluorinedoped tin oxide (FTO). Since TiO2 possesses a large bandgap of about 3.2 eV, it cannot be efficiently used in the visible light region but is more sensitive to the ultraviolet region
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