Hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanowires scaffolds within mesoporous TiO2 photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cells with enhanced efficiency. (1st April 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yang, Yana; Zhao, Jiahuan; Cui, Can; Zhang, Yichao; Hu, Haihua; Xu, Lingbo; Pan, Jiaqi; Li, Chaorong; Tang, Weihua
• Is Part Of: Electrochimica acta. Volume 196(2016)
• Page Start: 348
• Page End: 356
• Publication Date: 2016-04-01
• Subjects: dye-sensitized solar cells -- ZnO nanowires -- TiO2 based nanocomposite -- light scattering -- electron transport; Electrochemistry -- Periodicals; Electrochemistry, Industrial -- Periodicals; 541.37
• DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2016.03.022
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0013-4686

Abstract

Graphical abstract: Highlights: ZnO NWs scaffolds within ZnO NWs/TiO2 film are fabricated via in situ hydrothermal method. ZnO NWs promote electron transport and suppress charge recombination. Light scattering and dye-loading are dependent on the content of ZnO NWs. Thicker ZnO NWs/TiO2 film can further improve the efficiency of DSSC. ZnO NWs/TiO2 DSSC yields efficiency of 7.13%, 34.3% higher than TiO2 DSSC. Abstract: ZnO nanowires (ZnO NWs) scaffolds embedded in mesoporous TiO2 photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are fabricated via an in situ hydrothermal method. The amount of ZnO NWs in the ZnO NWs/TiO2 films can be simply controlled by the initially mixed ZnO seeds in the ZnO/TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) paste. The ZnO NWs/TiO2 hybrid structure combines advantages of fast electron transport and strong light scattering of ZnO NWs as well as large surface area for dye absorption of TiO2 NPs. The DSSC based on 13 μm-thick ZnO NWs/TiO2 film with an optimal ZnO content (6 wt% of ZnO seeds) shows power conversion efficiency of 6.41%, enhanced by 18.9% compared to that of pristine TiO2 NPs DSSC. The conversion efficiency can be further improved by increasing the film thickness due to the excellent electron transport property of ZnO NWs as well as the improved dye loading. At a film thickness of 27 μm, the ZnO NWs/TiO2 DSSC yields a conversion efficiency of 7.13%, enhanced by 34.3% compared with pristine TiO2 NPs based DSSC.