Abstract
TiO2, ZrO2 and layer-by-layer TiO2–ZrO2 films were prepared by doctor blade method followed by sensitization with natural dye for dye-sensitized solar cell application. The structural and optical, morphological and compositional properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction and UV–Vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, BET, surface profilometer and energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer, respectively. Dye-sensitized solar cells were fabricated using the prepared electrodes of TiO2, ZrO2 and layer-by-layer TiO2–ZrO2 films sensitized with natural dye extracted from Pandan leaves (Pandanus amaryllifolius). The J–V characteristics were recorded to measure photo-response of fabricated devices and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to study the electron behavior, series resistance and lifetime. Photovoltaic parameter like short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage, fill factor, and power conversion efficiency were evaluated for fabricated solar cell under artificial light supplied from white LED (15 mW·cm−2). The average values of power conversion efficiency of DSSCs fabricated with TiO2, ZrO2 and layer-by-layer TiO2–ZrO2 photoanodes were found to be 0.65%, 3.04% and 3.13%, respectively.
Highlights
Today, due to the increasing global warming and energy crisis worldwide, it is important to find renewable and green energy source, which are cost effective and reliable
It is found that the natural dye-sensitized layer-by-layer T iO2–ZrO2 photoanode exhibits maximum power conversion efficiency of 3.13% than pristine ZrO2 (3.04%) and TiO2 (0.65%) which suggest that the anchoring of chlorophyll dye goes well with ZrO2 as compared to T iO2
The improvement in efficiency is observed for T iO2–ZrO2 bilayered structure, which is due to the high surface area available for dye adsorption
Summary
Due to the increasing global warming and energy crisis worldwide, it is important to find renewable and green energy source, which are cost effective and reliable. Compared to first- and secondgeneration solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) can be considered as one of the most favorable photovoltaic devices because of the low-cost, simplicity in fabrication. One can enhance the performance of DSSC using multi-layered or composite photoanodes [8, 9]. Mohamed et al reported the improvement in efficiency from 1.61 to 4.51% of DSSC fabricated with doping of ZrO2 in TiO2 nanofibers photoanode sensitized using N719 dye [7]. Jin et al observed that the efficiency of DSSCs with a TiO2–ZrO2 composite electrode was 6.2%, an increase of 26.5% than pure T iO2 electrode
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