Photoanodes For Dye-sensitized Solar Cells Research Articles

Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Doping Copper (Cu) with Annealing Temperature Variation as Photoanode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC)

Cu-doped Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) has been widely used as a DSSC photoanode material. The annealing temperature affects the structural analysis and optical properties of DSSC photoanodes. Structural analysis showed that the crystal size increased with increasing annealing temperature. The XRD results showed that the sample formed an anatase phase at annealing temperatures of 300℃ and 400℃, while at 450℃ and 500℃ there was an anatase-rutile mixed phase. The results of SEM morphology data obtained average particle diameters for CT300, CT400, CT450, and CT500 materials were 23.87 μm, 32.54 μm, 33.38 μm, and 37.63 μm respectively. UV-Vis testing shows absorbance in the ultraviolet region at 350-400 nm. Increasing the annealing temperature decreases the absorbance. The efficiency of DSSC compared to undoped materials is 0.44% to 0.71% in samples with an annealing temperature of 300℃ which is the sample with the highest efficiency. The efficiency value decreased with increasing annealing temperature.

Design of blueberry anthocyanin/TiO2 composite layer-based photoanode and N-doped porous blueberry-derived carbon-loaded Ni nanoparticle-based counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells.

P25/PBP (TiO2, anthocyanins) prepared by combining PBP (blueberry peels) with P25, and N-doped porous carbon-supported Ni nanoparticles (Ni@NPC-X) prepared using blueberry-derived carbon were used for the application as photoanode and the counter electrode, respectively, in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) to create a new perspective for blueberry-based photo-powered energy systems. PBP was introduced into the P25 photoanode and carbonized to form a C-like structure after annealing that improved its adsorption capacity for N719 dye, contributing a 17.3% higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) of P25/PBP-Pt (5.82%) than that of P25-Pt (4.96%). The structure of the porous carbon changes from a flat surface to a petal-like structure due to the N doping by melamine, and the specific surface area increases. N-doped three-dimensional porous carbon supported the loading and reduced the agglomeration of Ni nanoparticles, reducing the charge transfer resistance, and providing a fast electron transfer path. The doping of Ni and N on the porous carbon worked synergistically to enhance the electrocatalytic activity of the Ni@NPC-X electrode. The PCE of the DSSCs assembled by Ni@NPC-1.5 and P25/PBP was 4.86%. Also, the Ni@NPC-1.5 electrode exhibited 116.12 F g-1 and a capacitance retention rate of 98.2% (10 000 cycles), further confirming good electrocatalysis and cycle stability.

Photovoltaic studies on iodine incorporated titania aerogel nanocomposites

Iodine incorporated titania aerogel nanocomposites were synthesized by the sol–gel method. The nanocomposites were obtained by varying the concentration of iodine as 0, 5, 10, and 20% with respect to the weight percentage of titania. All the synthesized nanocomposites retained the crystallinity and anatase phase, confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies. High-resolution scanning electron microscope images of nanocomposites showed the porous structure with agglomeration by increasing the concentration of iodine. The energy dispersive spectrum revealed the entry of the iodine into the titania aerogel. The absorption edge of the nanocomposites from the UV–Visible spectroscopy showed the red-shifted and thereby reducing the band gap with increasing iodine concentration. The photovoltaic performance of the synthesized iodine-incorporated titania aerogel nanocomposites was performed using as photoanode in the quasi-solid dye-sensitized solar cell and found that the efficiency is increasing with increasing iodine in titania aerogel. The photostability and reproducibility of the device were greater than the pristine aerogel.

Synthesis of titanium dioxide/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite by ultrasound-assisted mechanical mixing method for fabricating photoanode to upgrade the performance and stability of dye-sensitized solar cell

• TiO 2 /rGO was successfully synthesized by ultrasound-asissted mechanical mixing method. • 1.0 wt.% rGO under 720-W ultrasonic power was optimal synthesis conditions. • The presence of rGO enhanced and stabilized DSSC performance. • Nano-sized TiO 2 paticles were evenly anchored on rGO sheets. • rGO could enhance the thermostability and photostability of the DSSC. Herein, titanium dioxide/reduced graphene oxide (TiO 2 /rGO – TG) nanocomposite was synthesized via the ultrasound-assisted mechanical mixing method, used for the fabrication of photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The DSSCs performance was evaluated by current density-voltage (J-V) curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), showing that the sample with 1.0 wt.% rGO under the ultrasonic power of 720 W, was an optimal material for fabricating photoanode in DSSCs, which obtained the power conversion efficiency of 6.37 %. Additionally, in the 500-hour illumination test under 300-watt metal-halide lamp and the 100-hour drying at 85 °C, DSSCs with the presence of rGO proved better stability in comparison with DSSCs fabricated from commercial TiO 2 . The characterization of TG was analyzed by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, indicating that TiO 2 nanoparticles are uniformly distributed onto the rGO sheets with the average diameter from 20 to 70 nm.

Harnessing the Potential of Porous ZnO Photoanodes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells by Atomic Layer Deposition of Mg-Doped ZnO

Harnessing the Potential of Porous ZnO Photoanodes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells by Atomic Layer Deposition of Mg-Doped ZnO

Property Modulation of Graphene Oxide Incorporated with TiO2 for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

Graphene oxide (GO) nano-powder is synthesized by the modified Hummer's method, and further thin films are deposited by using the water solution of GO through spin-coating. These films are thermally reduced along with the synthesized GO nano-powder at 50 to 200 °C in a high vacuum. Microstructural, electrical, and optical properties are expectedly controlled by thermal reduction. The electronic properties of GO are investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure. The reduction is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. The work function and band gap of GO are tuned with the thermal reduction. The changes in properties of GO are not linear, and anomalous changes are observed for the reduction around 150 °C. Pristine and reduced GO nano-powder is incorporated into TiO2 paste to be the photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). It is observed that the performance of the fabricated cells is significantly enhanced for the GO reduced at 150 °C, and the cell exhibited a significant increment of ∼23% for the power conversion efficiency in comparison to DSSC based on an unmodified TiO2 photoanode.

Efficient natural dye sensitized solar cell from PVDF based polymer electrolyte filled with layered graphite

Abstract Graphite nanopowder was synthesized by mechanical method using ball mill and used as filler in polymer electrolyte film based on Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) for application in natural dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). A simple solution cast technique was employed for the preparation of polymer electrolyte film with incorporation of different weight percent (1, 2 and 3) graphite filler along with propylene carbonate and ethylene carbonate as plasticizers. X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry analysis was carried out to determine the crystallinity of the graphite nanopowder and its glass transition temperature. The film with 2 % weight showed the best ionic conductivity of about 5.63 × 10−3 S cm−1. The betacyanin dye from beetroot and chlorophyll dye from spinach leaves was evaluated for the fabrication of dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The carboxyl, hydroxyl and porphyrin groups present in these dyes helped in binding the dye with the photoanode of DSSCs.

ZnFe2O4 spinel oxide incorporated photoanodes as light-absorbing layers for dye-sensitized solar cells

Herein, nanoparticles of zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4) were initially synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method followed by ultrasonication. Then mixed with TiO2 (P25), and subsequently used as photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cell. ZnFe2O4 nanocomposites were found to be active in the visible region of the solar spectrum, while P25 showed absorption in the UV region, demonstrating a possibility of wider absorption band and higher photoelectric conversion efficiency. Composite photanode (with 0.1 wt% ZnFe2O4) based cell showed high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.55%, whereas, the PCE of the cell with pure TiO2 as photoanode was 3.27%. Thus, there was an 39% enhancement of PCE for the composite photanode based cell..

Preparation of TiO2/ZrO2 Composite as Photoanode of Ruthenium-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is an inorganic semiconductor layer with a nanoporous structure that has a function as a charge carrier transport layer and dye storage. Oxide semiconductor material such as titanium dioxide (TiO2) is widely used as a photoanode because of its wide band gap (3.2 eV) and high active surface area (80 m2/g), but TiO2 has low electron diffusion with high recombination (electron-hole pair pairing). To improve the electron diffusion and reduce recombination, TiO2 was modified with zirconia (ZrO2). The synthesis process was carried out using sol-gel method with variations of ZrO2 concentrations at 5 mol%, 10 mol%, and 15 mol%. Composite of TiO2/ZrO2 was then applied as a photoanode of DSSC. XRF results show that in all variations of ZrO2, the composites of TiO2/ZrO2 has been formed. Based on the results of UV-Vis spectroscopy, it was shown that the energy gap of TiO2/ZrO2 decreased as the increasing of ZrO2 concentration. The current density-voltage measurement was done to investigate the effect of ZrO2 addition to the TiO2 photoanode using light irradiation with power intensity of 100 mW/cm2. There is an increasing of photocurrent from 1.63 mA/cm2 of DSSC with TiO2 photoanode to 2.79 mA/cm2 of DSSC with TiO2/ZrO2 10 mol% photoanode. The highest efficiency obtained from DSSC with TiO2/ZrO2 photoanode is 1.15%. It was found that the presence of ZrO2 in the composite of TiO2/ZrO2 increased electron transport and reduced charge recombination to improve the photocurrent of DSSC.

Fabrication of Barium Titanate Nanowires-GNP Composite Bilayer Photoanodes for the High-Performance Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Inorganic perovskite barium titanate nanowires (BTNWs) and their nanocomposites comprised of different weight percentages (1, 2, and 3 wt%) of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) are synthesized via a hydrothermal method and used as photoanode materials of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Morphological analysis of the BTNWs and BTNWs + GNP composites has indicated that the one-dimensional BTNWs and two-dimensional GNP are formed as uniformly distributed, well-connected mesoporous microstructures. UV–visible absorption and Raman studies of the BTNWs + GNP composites have revealed a narrowing bandgap, improved visible light absorption with increasing GNP content, and a superior light-scattering effect of BTNWs. Besides, four different DSSC bilayer photoanodes comprising titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TNP) underlayer and an upper layer with BTNWs + (0, 1, 2, and 3 wt%) GNP composites are fabricated to elucidate the TNP + BTNWs and BTNWs + GNP composite sublayer(s) influences on the photovoltaic performance. The TNP + BTNWs + 2 wt% GNP composite bilayer photoanode has demonstrated a higher power conversion efficiency of 9.92 % as compared to that of the other TNP + BTNWs + GNP composite bilayer photoanodes in DSSCs, due to the higher charge recombination resistance, faster charge transport, superior charge collection ability and carrier lifetime of its sublayers.

Study the effect of nickel and aluminium doped ZnO photoanode in DSSC

Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC) is one of the promising candidates which are efficient, low-cost, and clean hybrid molecular solar cell devices. Zinc oxide (ZnO) has been widely used as the phoanode in DSSC due to its excellent charge conduction mechanism, yet still suffers from poor cell efficiency. In this study, aluminium doped ZnO (ZnO:Al) and Ni doped ZnO (ZnO:Ni) were studied as photoanode material in DSSC using solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS ) simulation, and the electrolyte liquid considered a single solid p-type layer as hole transporting materials. Both studied photoanodes have demonstrated better cell performance than pure ZnO photoanode due to the small amount of aluminium (Al) and nikel (Ni) impurities added have enhanced the physiochemical properties of ZnO films. A power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.96% was obtained at 3 mol% ZnO:Al photoanode with optimized key parameters. These simulation results proved an opportunity to improve the performance of the DSSCs via doping engineering into the ZnO photonaode.

Effect of reducing agents on co-precipitation synthesis of titanium dioxide/reduced graphene oxide composite materials for upgrading the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells

Herein, titanium dioxide/reduced graphene oxide (TiO2/rGO) composite material was synthesized using the co-precipitation method to investigate reducing agents. The as-prepared TiO2/rGO composite material was employed to fabricate photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Experimental results showed that the reducing agents were essential in reducing GO into rGO. Still, they also had a significant influence on the bonding of rGO with TiO2, leading to the narrowing of band-gap energy photoanode material and enhancement of DSSCs performance. The high performance was recognized for DSSCs using ascorbic acid (6.94 %), hydrazine (7.08 %), and sodium borohydride (7.17 %), while low counterpart was affirmed to sodium citrate (5.54 %), and d-glucose (4.63 %) in comparison with pure TiO2 (6.82 %). Therefore, the findings from this research are highly expected to pave the way for optimizing co-precipitation synthesis of TiO2/rGO composite based on the favorable reducing agents, ultimately applying for the fabrication of DSSCs commercially.

Photoelectrical process uplift in Mg-doped-TiO2 photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cells

Photoelectrical dynamic in the solar cells is strictly controlled by the electron trap that originated from the lattice defects and the interfacial charge transfer. Here, we report that the Mg doping on the anatase TiO2 photoanode can passivate the electron trap that boosts up both the interfacial charge transfer and transport dynamics, enhancing the photovoltaic performance of the DSSC device. We found that the power conversion efficiency improve by up to more than 58%, i.e. from its original condition of 2.96% to 4.68%, when the TiO2 was doped with the Mg. Our result indicated that the Mg doping improved the Voc, FF, and reduce the leakage current, the processes that verify the enhancement of the dynamic of the photogenerated carrier in the device. The effective electronic trap passivation is assumed driven by the highly reactive Mg metal that actively donates electron to the anion vacancy of TiO2. The Mg doping should be the potential platform for the enhancement of carrier dynamic in the solar cells device.

Low-Temperature Chemical Sintered TiO2 Photoanodes Based on a Binary Liquid Mixture for Flexible Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

A chemically sintered and binder-free paste of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) was prepared using a binary-liquid mixture of 1-octanol and CCl4. The 1:1 (v/v) complex of CCl4 and 1-octanol easily interacted chemically with the TiO2 NPs and induced the formation of a highly viscous paste. The as-prepared binary-liquid paste (<bold>P</bold>BL)-based TiO2 film exhibited the complete removal of the binary-liquid and residuals with the subsequent low-temperature sintering (~150°C) and UV-O3 treatment. This facilitated the fabrication of TiO2 photoanodes for flexible dye-sensitized solar cells (f-DSSCs). For comparison purposes, pure 1-octanol-based TiO2 paste (<bold>P</bold>O) with moderate viscosity was prepared. The <bold>P</bold>BL-based TiO2 film exhibited strong adhesion and high mechanical stability with the conducting oxide coated glass and plastic substrates compared to the <bold>P</bold>O-based film. The corresponding low-temperature sintered <bold>P</bold>BL-based f-DSSC showed a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.5%, while it was 2.0% for <bold>P</bold>O-based f-DSSC. The <bold>P</bold>BL<bold>-</bold>based low- and high-temperature (500°C) sintered glass-based rigid DSSCs exhibited the PCE of 6.0 and 6.3%, respectively, while this value was 7.1% for a 500°C sintered rigid DSSC based on a commercial (or conventional) paste.

Preparation of rGO/ZnO photoanodes and their DSSCs performance

Abstract In this study, we report a mild and controllable preparation method for graphene oxide (GO) and ZnO ultrafine powder, respectively. On this basis, reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/ZnO composite powder for the photoanodes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was synthesized by chemical reduction method. Phase composition, microstructure, chemical structure, conductivity, and specific surface area were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, respectively. Photoelectric performance of DSSCs was studied by the current density-voltage (J-V), electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) photoelectric test system. As rGO possesses higher adsorption capacity and excellent conductivity, hence it may effectively promote separation of electrons and holes, transmission ability of electrons and holes, and utilization of the light. By contrast, the as-synthesized zinc oxide (ZnO) may increase adsorption capacity of dye molecules, so photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of the solar cells is increased by means of synergistic effects. When adding rGO in the rGO/ZnO composite powder at 1.25 wt%, PCE reaches to 6.27%, an increase of 20.6% more than that of pure ZnO as the photoanode.

Prediction of Bandgap of Undoped TiO2 for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Photoanode

Prediction of Bandgap of Undoped TiO2 for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Photoanode

Photovoltaics and its magnetic-field promotion effect in dye-sensitized solar cells with BiFeO3 + TiO2 composite photoanodes

In dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), the light absorbance of photoanode is the most important factor in power conversion efficiency (PCE). Here the authors report on an alternative modified TiO2-based photoanode for obtaining enhanced photovoltaic (PV) properties in DSSCs. Multiferroics BiFeO3, which possesses excellent magnetic, electric, and photocatalytic performances, was employed to construct BiFeO3 + TiO2 composite photoanode for DSSCs. In this type of DSSCs with BiFeO3 + TiO2 composite photoanodes, BiFeO3 with suitable bandgap may also act as photoelectric conversion medium, which is generally acted by dye in DSSCs, and increases photogenerated carrier transport channels, which improves the PCE of DSSCs with BiFeO3 + TiO2 composite photoanodes. More importantly, magnetic-field enhanced PV properties in abovementioned DSSCs was firstly obtained, which may result from magnetic-field-suppression the recombination of charge carriers and magnetoresistance effect in BiFeO3. The investigated results offer both an alternative method to improve PV properties in DSSCs, and a referential train of thought to manipulate photoelectric properties of solar cells.

Investigation on SrTiO3 nanoparticles as a photocatalyst for enhanced photocatalytic activity and photovoltaic applications

• For the first time Luminescence spectroscopy is employed to correlate the Phtocatalytic. study with Uv–Vis Spectroscopy. • SrTiO 3 annealed at 1000 °C shows high crystalline nature, low band gap and spherical. Morphology thermally stable. • Even after the three cycles of reuse , the catalyst retains its perovskite structure. • The photocatalytic efficiency is 36% and Power Conversion Efficiency is 1.12% is. achieved for the SrTiO 3 annealed at 1000 °C. The present work explores the effect of annealing temperature on the photocatalytic activity and power conservation efficiency (PCE) of the strontium titanate (SrTiO 3 ) nanoparticles. Various analytical tools are used to examine the crystalline structure, shape, size, bandgap, and emission characteristics of the synthesized SrTiO 3 . XRD results show that the crystallite size increased with increasing annealing temperature, which impacts the decrease of dislocation density and lattice strain. The fine agglomerated nanosphere morphologies and the elements presented in the sample are explored by SEM and EDX analysis along with mapping. TEM results also reveals spherical morphology with the inter-planer distance of 0.27 nm. Chemical valance states are confirmed with the XPS analysis. BET analysis reveals that STO6 possess Specific Surface Area of 20.971 m 2 g −1 .TGA confirms that the prepared material is stable up to 1000 °C. The methylene blue degradation result reveals that when increasing the annealing temperature, the photocatalytic degradation efficiency has increased. Among them, the STO6 sample is achieved the highest degradation efficiency of 36% at 120 min of irradiation which is 63% higher than the STO1 sample. The reusability of STO6 has been tested for three cycles and its structural stability also studied using XRD. Besides, the samples are served as a photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and the results show that the STO6 cell delivered the highest short circuit current (J SC ) of 3.36 mA cm −2 , the open-circuit voltage (V OC ) of 0.63 V, and an efficiency (η) of 1.12%. According to the findings, the SrTiO 3 annealing temperature is also a crucial influence in determining photocatalytic activity and DSSC performance.

Plasmonic Engineering of TiO2 Photoanodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: A Review

Plasmonic Engineering of TiO2 Photoanodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: A Review

Investigation on the performance of nanostructure TiO2 bi-layer as photoanode for dye sensitized solar cell application

The photoanodes in dye-sensitized solar cells with two different morphologies such as one dimensional hydrothermally synthesized rutile nanorods and nanoparticles of TiO2 were utilized for improving the short circuit current density of the device. The synergistic effect of both the structures offer high Jsc by providing better pathway for the electron transportation through one dimensional nanorod morphology and efficient light absorption due to more dye adsorption on the mesoporous nanoparticles.With this, the condensation reaction mechanism for the formation of TiO2 rutile nanorod structure is elucidated along with FESEM analysis. The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope images confer the presence of highly oriented and vertically aligned nanorods. X-Ray Diffraction and RAMAN Spectroscopic studies confirm the crystalline nature of synthesized bi-layer film and it was observed to be a mixture of anatase and rutile phase of TiO2. The absorption and emission properties for the synthesized samples were studied using UV–Vis and Photoluminescence spectroscopy. The efficiency of the solar cells with the photo anodes of Nanorods, Nanoparticles and Nanorods/Nanoparticles bi-layer were found to be 0.30%, 4.41% and 4.23% respectively. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopic studies have done to check the charge transfer properties of the fabricated devices.