Sulfuric acid treatment of ZnO photoelectrode for photovoltaic improvement in dye-sensitized solar cell

Abstract

Chemical wet treatment of ZnO films using the diluted sulfuric acid for dye-sensitized solar cell application was performed. The ZnO films were prepared from commercial ZnO nanoparticles using screen printing method and annealed. The films were treated by dipping into diluted sulfuric acid for different treatment times. Morphology of the treated ZnO films shows the nanowire formation for long treatment time. The treated ZnO films were then used as photoelectrode of dye-sensitized solar cell. The power conversion efficiency is achieved to be maximal value for the dye-sensitized solar cell fabricated with the treated ZnO films. It reveals the higher than the dye-sensitized solar cell fabricated with the non-treated ZnO films. The enhancement is due to the increased open-circuit voltage, the increased fill factor, the increased shunt resistance, and the decreased charge transfer resistance. In addition, the effect of sulfuric acid treatment is found to improve the charge transfer behaviour due to the nanowire formation. Therefore, the sulfuric acid treatment of ZnO photoelectrode has potential to provide charge transfer rate for better dye-sensitized solar cell application.