Mercurochrome and N3 dyes are employed to be the sensitizers in the ZnO-nanowire ͑NW͒ dye-sensitized solar cells ͑DSSCs͒. A lower fill factor is obtained in the N3-sensitized cell which results in comparable efficiencies in both ZnO-NW DSSCs although the N3 molecules possess a wider absorptive range for light harvesting. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and open-circuit photovoltage decay measurements are employed to investigate the electron transport properties in both ZnO-NW DSSCs. The results indicate that more abundant electron interfacial recombination occurs in the N3-sensitized ZnO-NW DSSC due to the higher surface trap density in the ZnO-NW photoanode after N3 dye adsorption.

Intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy and intensity-modulated photovoltage spectroscopy are employed to measure the dynamics of electron transport and recombination in the ZnO nanowire (NW) array-ZnO/layered basic zinc acetate (LBZA) nanoparticle (NP) composite dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The roles of the vertical ZnO NWs and insulating LBZA in the electron collection and transport in DSSCs are investigated by comparing the results to those in the TiO(2)-NP, horizontal TiO(2)-NW and vertical ZnO-NW-array DSSCs. The electron transport rate and electron lifetime in the ZnO NW/NP composite DSSC are superior to those in the conventional TiO(2)-NP cell due to the existence of the vertical ZnO NWs and insulating LBZA. It indicates that the ZnO NW/NP composite anode is able to sustain efficient electron collection over much greater thickness than the TiO(2)-NP cell does. Consequently, a larger effective electron diffusion length is available in the ZnO composite DSSC.

TiO(2) nanowire (NW)/nanoparticle (NP) composite films have been fabricated by hybridizing various ratios of hydrothermal anatase NWs and TiO(2) NPs for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images reveal that uniform NW/NP composite films were formed on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates by the dip-coating method. The NWs are randomly but neither vertically nor horizontally oriented within the composite film. The TiO(2) NP DSSC possesses superior performance to those of the NW/NP composite and the pure NW cells, and the efficiency of the NW/NP composite DSSC increases on increasing the NP/NW ratio in the composite anode. All types of DSSC possess the same dependence of performance on the anode thickness that the efficiency increases with the anode thickness to a maximum value, then it decreases when the anode is thickened further. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analyses reveal that the NP DSSCs possess larger effective electron diffusion coefficients (D(eff)) in the photoanodes and smaller diffusion resistances of I(3)(-) in electrolytes compared to those in the NW/NP and the NW DSSCs. D(eff) decreases when NWs are added into the photoanode. These results suggest that the vertical feature of the NWs within the anodes is crucial for achieving a high electron transport rate in the anode.

No abstract