Yb,Er-Doped CeO2 Nanotubes for Photoconversion-Ehanced Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

: CeO2 doped with trivalent lanthanide ions(Ln3+) that possess intra 4f electronic transitions is a research focus owing to their fascinating optical properties and their significant application in optoelectronic devices[1].The dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs) as a promising third generation photovoltaic device have received a great deal of attention since its introduction in 1991 due to its low cost, easy production, and relatively high efficiency. It has recently exhibited an efficiency of 12.3%[2]. Cognitional DSSCs photoanode are comprised of a mesoporous network TiO2 nanoparticles which N719-dye molecules are absorded for light harvesting. We aimed to structure a new type complex photoanode with Yb,Er-doped CeO2 nanotubes(CeO2:Yb,Er NTs). Yb,Er-doped CeO2 nanotubes, synthesized using Ag nanowires as a hard template(as shown in Fig. A and B), were investigated to determine theirs photovoltaic properties in an effort to enhance the power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs). Compare with pristine TiO2 photoanode, the DSSCs based CeO2:Yb,Er nanotubes exhibited a power conversion efficiency(η) of 8.67%, an increase of 34%, and incident photo-to-electric conversion efficiency(IPCE) of 92.96%, an increase of 48.83%,as can be seen from Fig. C and D. Energy band matching is formed at the interface of TiO2 layers and CeO2:Yb,Er nanotubes, thereby leading to decrease of electron-hole recombination[3]. References Z. L. Wang, G. R. Li, Y. N. Ou, Z. P. Feng, D. L. Qu and Y. X. Tong, J. Phys. Chem. C, 2011, 115, 351-356.A. Y. Pang, X. Sun, H. C. Ruan, Y. F. Li, S. Y. Dai and M. D. Wei, Nano Energy, 2014, 5, 82-90. J. Tian, Y. H. Sang, Z. H. Zhao, W. J. Zhou, D. Z. Wang, X. L. Kang, H. Liu, J. Y. Wang, S. W. Chen, H. Q. Cai and H. Huang, Small, 2013, 9, 3864-3872. Acknowledgement This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 21273195).