Facile Synthesis of a Multifunctional SnO₂ Nanoparticles/Nanosheets Composite for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

Synthesizing SnO2 composite nanostructures via a facile one-step method has been proven to be a great challenge. By adjusting operating variables, such as the reaction solution’s pH and solvent type, several SnO2 nanostructures, in particular, a function-matching SnO2 hybrid structure composed of irregular zero-dimensional nanoparticles (NPs) and two-dimensional nanosheets (NSs), could be created. The as-prepared SnO2 composites were then characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) to determine their physical properties. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) constructed with the resultant multifunctional SnO2 NPs/NSs composite exhibited the highest overall power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.16% among all products with a corresponding short-circuit current density of 18.6 mA/cm2 and an open-circuit voltage of 0.626 V. The improved performance can be attributed to the combined effects of each component in the composite, i.e., the intentionally introduced nanosheets provide desired electron transport and enhanced light scattering capability, while the nanoparticles retain their large surface area for efficient dye absorption.

Amphiphilic Graft Copolymers as Templates for the Generation of Binary Metal Oxide Mesoporous Interfacial Layers for Solid-State Photovoltaic Cells

“…The ideal photoanode has a large surface area, high dye absorption, fast electron transfer rate, and suppressed electron recombination. TiO 2 [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ], SnO 2 [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ], and ZnO [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ] are used as photoanodes. In general, TiO 2 is used as a photoanode because it has an appropriate energy band gap, a large specific surface area, stable dye adsorption, and acts as a scattering layer leading to enhanced light harvesting.…”

Amphiphilic Graft Copolymers as Templates for the Generation of Binary Metal Oxide Mesoporous Interfacial Layers for Solid State Photovoltaic Cells

“…The ideal photoanode has a large surface area, high dye absorption, fast electron transfer rate, and suppressed electron recombination. TiO 2 [3][4][5][6][7][8], SnO 2 [9][10][11][12][13], and ZnO [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] are used as photoanodes. In general, TiO 2 is used as a photoanode because it has an appropriate energy band gap, a large specific surface area, stable dye adsorption, and acts as a scattering layer leading to enhanced light harvesting.…”