Abstract
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) solar cell studies of Al doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin film electrodes has been carried out by photocurrent-voltage (I-V) characteristic. The concentration of Al in ZnO was varied between 1-5 at.% in order to study the effect of the variation on the photovoltaic performance of the electrodes. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics measured in the dark and under 80 W simulated illumination revealed enhanced PV performance for the AZO electrodes in contrast to the undoped electrode. The best response was achieved for AZO electrode with 2 at.% Al concentration thus, recording higher conversion efficiency and fill factor. This is a clear indication that AZO electrodes are superior to undoped ZnO in PV applications. The remarkable enhanced properties of Al doping on ZnO were carefully studied by means of thickness measurement, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and UV-Vis spectroscopy, and the results were in good agreement, and confirmed that AZO thin film electrodes are better for PV applications than undoped ZnO semiconductor in sodium sulphate (Na2SO4) electrolyte.
Highlights
Scientific development in materials technology over the last few decades realizes the usage of wide-band gap semiconductors for various optoelectronic device applications including photovoltaic (PV) solar cells [1]
The results indicate that the development of film thickness is time dependent
As the temperature of the heated bath gradually rises to 353 K, precipitation begins in the solution and metal ions are slowly released to form thin solid film of Al doped ZnO (AZO) on the substrate
Summary
Scientific development in materials technology over the last few decades realizes the usage of wide-band gap semiconductors for various optoelectronic device applications including photovoltaic (PV) solar cells [1]. The large photonic energy requirement of ZnO semiconductor (about 3.2-3.37 eV) only limits its light absorption with in a small fraction of the solar spectrum [3] Thin film properties such as crystal structures, surface structures, band gap and optical absorption and electrical/optical conductivity of ZnO has been improved by introducing dopants in to ZnO lattice [4]. TiO2 nanoparticle films with transparent conducting oxide (TCO) layers are used as Journal of Materials Physics and Chemistry photoelectrode in PEC solar cells because of their adequate surface area and chemical affinity for electrolyte absorption as well as their suitable energy band potential for charge transfer between the photoelectrode and electrolyte. In this paper, PEC properties of AZO electrodes synthesized by a novel chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique, with varying concentration of Al is reported
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