Metal-Free Low-Cost Organic Dye-Sensitized ZnO-Nanorod Photoanode for Solid-State Solar Cell

Abstract

The synthesis of ZnO nanorods (ZnONRs), by virtue of their anisotropic electronic properties, and their exploitation as photoanode material for low-cost metal-free organic dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) are reported. The ZnO nanostructures were prepared through sol-gel method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. The photovoltaic performance of the eosin yellow (eosin-Y) sensitized solar cell employing TiO 2 nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs) modified poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) based solid-state polymer electrolyte was evaluated under simulated standard global AM 1.5G sunlight (100 mW/cm 2 . The solar to electrical energy conversion efficiency ( ) of the ZnONRs based DSSC was 0.89%, which is 2.5 times higher than that of the DSSC fabricated with ZnO nanoparticles (0.35%). This enhancement in the efficiency is attributed to an effective conduction of electrons through the 1D ZnO nanostructures.

Solid state dye sensitized solar cells: Eosin-Y sensitized TiO2–ZnO/PEO–PVDF-HFP-MMT electrolytes/MWCNT–Nafion® counter electrode

“…It has several advantages over metal-complex dyes like high absorption coefficient, greater conservation of restricted precious metal resources and user friendly for cell reusing without eliminating metal [19].…”

“…Among them eosin Y has been extensively studied in ZnO photo anode based DSSCs, because of its water soluble property and high photovoltaic performance [19].…”

Ultralong ZnO/Pt hierarchical structures for continuous-flow catalytic reactions

“…With the development of microreactor technology, 1D materials have been extensively explored as a way to modify the inner wall of capillary microchannels instead of particle arrays. ZnO, a semiconductor oxide with a wide band gap that shows promise as a catalyst to degrade persistent organic pollutants, has been used to fabricate types of micro-nanostructures [23], [24], [25] and [26]. We previously developed a wet chemical route to fabricate 1D ZnO micro-nanostructures inside microchannel [27], [28].…”

Recent Progress in ZnO-Based Nanostructured Ceramics in Solar Cell Applications

“…Various strategies have been implemented to improve the miscibility of the metal oxides with the polymers such as the use of surfactants, 155 which lead to performance losses due to introduction of energy barriers by the surfactants. Other strategies include capping agents, which functionalize the [204] polymers with ester side groups, which allow better attachment to the ZnO polar surfaces. 156 These are subsequently removed to allow better electron dynamics between the materials.…”