Abstract
The effect of ZnO photoanode morphology on the performance of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is reported. Four different structures of dye-loaded ZnO layers have been fabricated in conjunction with poly(3-hexylthiophene). A significant improvement in device efficiency with ZnO nanorod arrays as photoanodes has been achieved by filling the interstitial voids of the nanorod arrays with ZnO nanoparticles. The overall power conversion efficiency increases from 0.13% for a nanorod-only device to 0.34% for a device with combined nanoparticles and nanorod arrays. The higher device efficiency in solid-state DSSCs with hybrid nanorod/nanoparticle photoanodes is originated from both large surface area provided by nanoparticles for dye adsorption and efficient charge transport provided by the nanorod arrays to reduce the recombinations of photogenerated carriers.
Highlights
The rapidly increasing fossil fuel consumption and excessive greenhouse gas emissions have put significant pressure on the already exhaustive global energy demand and needs for environmental protection
Solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on various morphologies of ZnO photoanodes with N3 dye as the light-absorbing material and P3HT as the hole transport material have been fabricated
Compared to pure nanoparticle photoanode, Voc increases with the presence of ZnO nanorod arrays due to faster electron transport and less charge recombination
Summary
The rapidly increasing fossil fuel consumption and excessive greenhouse gas emissions have put significant pressure on the already exhaustive global energy demand and needs for environmental protection. The global growing demand for energy and for protecting our environment can potentially be met by solar cell technology. The solar cells technology has not yet been in large-scale utilization because of its high cost and insufficient conversion efficiencies in the past, recent advances in nanomaterial and device technologies have offered new opportunities for it to become competitive to fossil fuels. Among the diverse photovoltaic devices, the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) technology has made enormous progresses and is highly competitive for large-scale commercial fabrication. DSSCs have emerged as an attractive choice for solar energy harvesting since their invention [1]. The critical component in DSSCs is the photoanode, which is typically composed of a porous TiO2 or ZnO nanoparticle
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