Influence of morphology on the performance of ZnO-based dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

The relation between the morphological and textural properties and the performance of ZnO-based dye-sensitized solar cells is explored using ZnO materials prepared by a sonochemical method as a function of pH.

Study of the electrophoretic deposition copper–carbon nanotubes composite coatings in deep eutectic solvent using a Taguchi experimental design approach

“…Moreover, Cu nanoparticles grow preferentially over the (111) plane direction. The preferential crystal orientation has been studied by the well know Harris texture coefficient [28,29], TC (hkl), of the plane hkl that is calculated by the following equation:…”

“…Moreover, Cu nanoparticles grow preferentially over the (111) plane direction. The preferential crystal orientation has been studied by the well know Harris texture coefficient [28,29], TC (hkl), of the plane hkl that is calculated by the following equation: where I is the obtained intensity, I 0 (hkl) is the standard intensity of the plane obtained from the JCPDF and n is the number of reflections peaks.…”

Open-Circuit Voltage (VOC) Enhancement in TiO2-Based DSSCs: Incorporation of ZnO Nanoflowers and Au Nanoparticles

“…Furthermore, it can be synthesized in a wide range of morphologies 7 including nanowires, nanotubes, nanotips, nanoforests, nanoflowers, nanosheets, and nanobelts. 11 Among all the different morphologies, ZnO nanoflowers have shown an enhancement in DSSC performance because of their larger surface area for dye adsorption, direct transport pathways, and efficient scattering centers for a better light harvesting efficiency. 12,13 The coupling of ZnO and TiO 2 has been investigated through different procedures such as simple addition of ZnO powder to TiO 2 14 or mixing both oxides during the synthesis process.…”

“…Although the efficiency of ZnO-based DSSCs is still lower than that of TiO 2 -based devices, ZnO can be considered an attractive alternative to TiO 2 because of its simple and low-cost synthesis methods. Furthermore, it can be synthesized in a wide range of morphologies including nanowires, nanotubes, nanotips, nanoforests, nanoflowers, nanosheets, and nanobelts . Among all the different morphologies, ZnO nanoflowers have shown an enhancement in DSSC performance because of their larger surface area for dye adsorption, direct transport pathways, and efficient scattering centers for a better light harvesting efficiency. , The coupling of ZnO and TiO 2 has been investigated through different procedures such as simple addition of ZnO powder to TiO 2 or mixing both oxides during the synthesis process. , These procedures can result in a structure consisting of a blend of ZnO and TiO 2 nanoparticles or a core–shell structure. , ZnO nanoflowers have also been combined with TiO 2 using different strategies.…”

Investigation on Structural and Optical Properties of ZnO Film Prepared by Simple Wet Chemical Method

“…As a wide band gap (3.37 eV) semiconducting oxide with a large excitons binding energy (60 meV) at room temperature, nanostructured zinc oxide (ZnO) has triggered extensive interest due to its unique advantages, such as large surface area, enhanced light scattering capacity and high porosity (Yang, Wang, Kong, Jia, & Wang, 2015). One-dimensional (1D) ZnO nanostructure has been one of the most popular topics in material, chemistry and physics due to its great potential in electronics and optoelectronics application, such as solar cells (Lizama-Tzec et al, 2016), light emitting diode (Jo et al, 2005) and sensing devices (Shao, Chang, & Long, 2014). Although many of the research efforts are still concentrate in the preparation of 1D ZnO without concening the growth direction, it has been realized that the construction of nanostructures in a wellordered alignment and morphology, is critical for scientific and technological applications.…”