Study of sol-gel derived porous ZnO photoelectrode for the application of dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

In this study, the porous zinc oxide (ZnO) films were deposited on SnO2:F coated glass substrate by sol-gel technique with zinc acetate as precursor, ethanol as solvent, and diethanolamine as chelating agent. Two sets of ZnO films with equal number of coatings and the same film thicknesses were deposited with various zinc acetate concentrations. The surface morphology of the porous ZnO film strongly depends on the zinc acetate concentration. It was also revealed from the optical study that the dye absorption increases with an increase in the zinc acetate concentration. The ZnO film with 1.0mol∕l zinc acetate concentration has shown the best porous structure and maximum rms roughness value (187nm). The maximum photoelectric conversion efficiencies, 0.64% and 0.8%, were achieved for ZnO films with 1.0mol∕l of zinc acetate concentration in both sets of samples: equal number of coatings and the same film thicknesses, respectively.

MOCVD of ZnO Films from Bis(Ketoiminato)Zn(II) Precursors: Structure, Morphology and Optical Properties

“…3a) and the corresponding rms roughness, as high as 42 nm. [1,[31][32][33][34][35] Since the effective surface area is typically larger for a rough surface, [10][11] the obtainment of such morphology might be an interesting starting point in view of possible photocatalytic or gas sensing applications. In the case of precursor 1, a further increase in the substrate temperature to 700 8C led to the formation of a film composed of interconnected aggregates (average size % 100 nm), resulting in a more compact crosssectional assembly and an appreciably lower overall thickness.…”

Novel micro-ring structured ZnO photoelectrode for dye-sensitized solar cell

“…The DSC results have been compared with ZnO films prepared without PEG contents. This work is continuation of our previous work [15], where the DSC with ZnO films was optimized with respect to zinc acetate concentrations and film thickness. In previous works, the upper surface of the optimized ZnO electrode has some crack/cannel and wall like structure, but maximum surface remains smooth.…”

“…In addition, the A 1 (LO) = 580.1 cm -1 peak is associated with the formation of defects such as oxygen vacancy, zinc interstice, or their complexes [20]. This A 1 (LO) peak of micro-ring structured ZnO films is weaker than that of the ZnO films with compact surface [15], which indicates that the micro-ring structured ZnO film has less structural defects [20]. Figure 2 (a)-(c) shows the field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM, JEOL 6700F) images of ZnO film in different magnifications (2,000, 20,000, and 80,000).…”

“…The structural, optical, and surface morphological properties of the resulting ZnO photoelectrode and the photovoltaic performance of the DSC have been investigated and discussed. Moreover, performance of this DSC device has been compared with DSC without PEG based ZnO film.The micro-ring like ZnO film was prepared by the simple sol-gel dip-coating technique according to the reference [15]. The precursor solution was prepared by using zinc acetate [Zn(CH 3 COO) 2 .2H 2 O], absolute ethanol, diethanolamine [NH(CH 2 CH 2 OH) 2 : DEA], and deionized water.…”

“…The micro-ring like ZnO film was prepared by the simple sol-gel dip-coating technique according to the reference [15]. The precursor solution was prepared by using zinc acetate [Zn(CH 3 COO) 2 .2H 2 O], absolute ethanol, diethanolamine [NH(CH 2 CH 2 OH) 2 : DEA], and deionized water.…”