Multiporous nanofibers of SnO₂by electrospinning for high efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Various one-dimensional nano-morphologies, such as multiporous nanofibers (MPNFs), porous nanofibers (PNFs), and nanowires (NWs) of SnO 2 , are synthesized using electrospinning technique by controlling the tin precursor concentration. The MPNFs have $8-fold higher surface area compared to the other morphologies. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) were fabricated using these nanostructures as photoanodes and their performance was compared. The MPNFs surpass the performance of PNFs and NWs as well as conventional TiO 2 paste. Record photoconversion efficiency (PCE) of $7.4% was realized in MPNFs DSCs, which was twice to that achieved using PNFs ($3.5%). Furthermore, the MPNFs showed over >80% incident photon to current conversion efficiency (22% higher than that achieved by spherical P25 TiO 2 particles) and also demonstrated $3 times longer electron lifetime and electron diffusion length. Owing to the possibility to produce large quantities using electrospinning technique, huge commercial potential of SnO 2 nanostructures, and promising results achieved herein, the MPNFs are expected soon to be utilized in commercial devices.

Tin oxide as a photoanode for dye-sensitised solar cells: Current progress and future challenges

“…While Section 2 of this article compares the structural and electrochemical properties of SnO 2 with those of TiO 2 and ZnO, Sections 3e6 provide a comprehensive overview of the research carried out using pure, doped or composite SnO 2 photoanodes in DSSCs. For example, (i) novel morphologies such as flowers showed increased surface area and yielded a remarkable V OC of~700 mV with pure SnO 2 [57,60], (ii) SnO 2 doping with various divalent metals such as Zn, Cd, Ni, Cu, and Pb showed V OC~7 80 mV due to their increased CB edge and flat-band potentials [62e64] and (iii) novel morphologies such as nanotubes (NTs) [48,65,66], porous nanofibers (NFs) [67], coreeshell structures [68e70], and composite nanostructures [71,72], simultaneously provided high surface area and improved electron diffusion. Such developments have brought SnO 2 nanostructures to deliver h~9.53% in composite form, a value close to the best performing DSSCs based on TiO 2 [70].…”

Incorporation of graphene into SnO2 photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

“…This process is a commonly followed strategy to deposit a thin layer of TiO 2 over SnO 2 (SnO 2 -RGO in our case) which can improve the V oc of the SnO 2 -based DSSCs [18,[44][45][46]. Therefore, the photoanodes were denoted as " values for such cells [12,18].…”

“…Among many alternative semiconductors, SnO 2 has been the subject of numerous investigations [11][12][13]. This is partially due to the fact that SnO 2 has a higher electron mobility than TiO 2 [14,15].…”

One pot synthesis of multi-functional tin oxide nanostructures for high efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells

“…The hollow structures retained their initial morphology even after extensive mechanical agitation during the paste making procedure and subsequent thermal annealing. No agglomeration was found in the WE film; ensuring high porosity for electrolyte permeation [26].…”