Porphyrin Dye-Sensitized Zinc Oxide Aggregated Anodes for Use in Solar Cells

Abstract

Porphyrin YD2-o-C8-based dyes were employed to sensitize room-temperature (RT) chemical-assembled ZnO aggregated anodes for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). To reduce the acidity of the YD2-o-C8 dye solution, the proton in the carboxyl group of a porphyrin dye was replaced with tetrabuthyl ammonium (TBA + ) in this work. The short-circuit current density (Jsc) of the YD2-o-C8-TBA-sensitized ZnO DSSCs is higher than that of the YD2-o-C8-sensitized cells, resulting in the improvement of the efficiency of the YD2-o-C8-based ZnO DSSCs. With an appropriate incorporation of chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) as coadsorbate, the Jsc and efficiency of the YD2-o-C8-TBA-sensitized ZnO DSSC are enhanced due to the improvement of the incident-photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) values in the wavelength range of 400-450 nm. Moreover, a considerable increase in Jsc is achieved by the addition of a light scattering layer in the YD2-o-C8-TBA-sensitized ZnO photoanodes. Significant IPCE enhancement in the range 475-600 nm is not attainable by tuning the YD2-o-C8-TBA sensitization processes for the anodes without light scattering layers. Using the RT chemical-assembled ZnO aggregated anode with a light scattering layer, an efficiency of 3.43% was achieved in the YD2-o-C8-TBA-sensitized ZnO DSSC.

Hydrothermal Growth of ZnO Nanorods for Use in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

“…have been considered to empower the photoconversion efficiency in ZnO-based DSSCs. These 1-D nanostructures have paved the way for direct electron transport without any obstruction. − Although the ZnO NRs have the advantages of faster electron transport and decreased recombination, the photoconversion efficiencies of the DSSCs fabricated with a ZnO-based photoanode are usually lower in comparison to those of the DSSCs fabricated with a TiO 2 photoanode. , The main problem of low photoconversion efficiency in ZnO-based DSSCs is dye adsorption. Most of the dyes designed for DSSCs are acidic in nature and have a carboxylic binding group.…”

High transparency and conductivity of heavily In-doped ZnO thin films deposited by dip-coating method

“…Many recent works have been devoted to the one-dimensional growth of ZnO nanostructures such as nanorods and nanotubes, considered as the most promising candidates for future nanodevices, such as light-emitting diodes [1,2], dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC) [3,4] and gas sensors [5]. These nanostructures can also be used as photocatalysts [6] and in biomedical applications [7].…”

N-Confused Porphyrin Immobilized on Solid Supports: Synthesis and Metal Ions Sensing Efficacy

“…Porphyrins and analogues, well known by their impressive applications in several areas such as catalysis [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ], photocatalysis [ 29 , 30 ] electronic materials [ 31 , 32 , 33 ], supramolecular chemistry [ 34 , 35 ], biomimetic models [ 36 , 37 ] , and medicine [ 25 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ], are also often used as sensor probes due to their unique photophysical and photochemical properties [ 25 , 35 , 44 , 45 , 46 ]. In fact, porphyrins as free-bases or as metallo complexes have been used to create the so-called artificial noses and tongues for gas, cations, anions, and neutral species detection [ 47 ].…”