Simulation, Analysis, and Characterization of Calcium-Doped ZnO Nanostructures for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Shahzadi Tayyaba,Maham Akhlaq,Valentina Emilia Balas,Muhammad Waseem Ashraf,Ning Wang,Muhammad Imran Tariq,Marius M Balas

doi:10.3390/en13184863

Abstract

In this research article, the authors have discussed the simulation, analysis, and characterization of calcium-doped zinc oxide (Ca-doped-ZnO) nanostructures for advanced generation solar cells. A comparative study has been performed to envisage the effect of Ca-doped ZnO nanoparticles (NP), seeded Ca-doped ZnO nanorods (NR), and unseeded Ca-doped ZnO NR as photoanodes in dye-sensitized solar cells. Simulations were performed in MATLAB fuzzy logic controller to study the effect of various structures on the overall solar cell efficiency. The simulation results show an error of less than 1% in between the simulated and calculated values. This work shows that the diameter of the seeded Ca-doped ZnO NR is greater than that of the unseeded Ca-doped ZnO NR. The incorporation of Ca in the ZnO nanostructure is confirmed using XRD graphs and an EDX spectrum. The optical band gap of the seeded substrate is 3.18 eV, which is higher compared to those of unseeded Ca-doped ZnO NR and Ca-doped ZnO NP, which are 3.16 eV and 3.13 ev, respectively. The increase in optical band gap results in the improvement of the overall solar cell efficiency of the seeded Ca-doped ZnO NR to 1.55%. The incorporation of a seed layer with Ca-doped ZnO NR increases the fill factor and the overall efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC).

Highlights

Due to prevailing energy requirements, the necessity of a clean energy technology is substantial.The use of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells is considered as one of the most suitable ways for the generation of clean energy technology [1]
PV solar cells are found in three major types including high-efficiency silicon solar cell, thin film solar cell, and advanced generation solar cell
N3 Ruthenium has been used as a dye for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) fabrication. 2-Propanol and deionized (DI) water were used as solvent for the synthesis of photoanode

Summary

Introduction

Due to prevailing energy requirements, the necessity of a clean energy technology is substantial. The use of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells is considered as one of the most suitable ways for the generation of clean energy technology [1]. PV solar cells are found in three major types including high-efficiency silicon solar cell, thin film solar cell, and advanced generation solar cell. Among advanced generation solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) are an emerging type of advanced generation solar cells. They are considered as an alternate to silicon solar cells due to their easy and low-cost fabrication [2]. The photogeneration of an electron hole pair is carried out by the Energies 2020, 13, 4863; doi:10.3390/en13184863 www.mdpi.com/journal/energies

Methods

Results

Conclusion