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  4. Analysis of Electron Transfer Properties of ZnO and TiO2 Photoanodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
 
research article

Analysis of Electron Transfer Properties of ZnO and TiO2 Photoanodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Chandiran, Aravind Kumar  
•
Abdi Jalebi, Mojtaba  
•
Nazeeruddin, Mohammad Khaja  
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2014
ACS Nano

Mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticle films are used as photoanodes for high efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC). In spite of excellent photovoltaic power conversion efficiencies (PCE) displayed by titanium dioxide nanoparticle structures, the transport rate of electrons is known to be low due to low electron mobility. So the alternate oxides including ZnO, that possesses high electron mobility, are being investigated as a potential candidate for photoanodes. However, the PCE with ZnO is still lower than TiO2 and this is typically attributed to the low internal surface area. In this work, we attempt to make a one-to-one comparison of the photovoltaic performance and the electron transfer dynamics involved in DSC, with ZnO and TiO2 as photoanodes. Previously such comparative investigations were hampered due to the morphological differences (internal surface area, pore diameter, porosity) that exist between zinc oxide and titanium dioxide films. We circumvent this issue by depositing different thickness of these oxides, by atomic layer deposition (ALD), on an arbitrary mesoporous insulating template and subsequently used them as photoanodes. Our results reveal that at an optimal thickness, ZnO exhibits photovoltaic performances similar to TiO2, but the internal electron transfer properties differ. The higher photogenerated electron transport rate contributed to the performances of ZnO but in the case of TiO2, it’s the low recombination rate, dye loading and fast electron injection.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1021/nn405535j
Web of Science ID

WOS:000333539400040

Author(s)
Chandiran, Aravind Kumar  
•
Abdi Jalebi, Mojtaba  
•
Nazeeruddin, Mohammad Khaja  
•
Graetzel, Michael  
Date Issued

2014

Publisher

American Chemical Society

Published in
ACS Nano
Volume

8

Issue

3

Start page

2261

End page

2268

Subjects

Dye-sensitized solar cell

•

titanium dioxide

•

zinc oxide

•

electron recombination

•

electron transport

•

atomic layer deposition

•

templates

Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
LPI  
Available on Infoscience
February 19, 2014
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/101014
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