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Enhanced photovoltaic conversion efficiency of a dye-sensitized solar cell based on TiO2 nanoparticle/nanorod array composites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2019

Chengtao Yu Open the ORCID record for Chengtao Yu [Opens in a new window] ,
Jingyi Zhang ,
Hexu Yang ,
Ling Zhang  and
Yu Gao
Chengtao Yu*
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical Engineering, Ningxia Institute of Science and Technology, Shizuishan 753000, China
Jingyi Zhang
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical Engineering, Ningxia Institute of Science and Technology, Shizuishan 753000, China
Hexu Yang
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical Engineering, Ningxia Institute of Science and Technology, Shizuishan 753000, China
Ling Zhang
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical Engineering, Ningxia Institute of Science and Technology, Shizuishan 753000, China
Yu Gao
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical Engineering, Ningxia Institute of Science and Technology, Shizuishan 753000, China
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: yct_nxlg@163.com
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Abstract

Hierarchical nanostructure of TiO2 nanoparticles/nanorod arrays (TiO2 NPs/NRs) is synthesized and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) comparing with the TiO2 nanorod (TiO2 NR) arrays and the TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs). The TiO2 NP/NR surface morphology is revealed by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. The power conversion efficiency of NP/NR-based DSSCs (length 3 μm) is improved to 3.47%, which is 2.2 times higher than the NR-based DSSCs (length 3 μm), and rivals the NP-based DSSC (length 5 μm). The high photovoltaic performance was attributed to that the TiO2 NP/NR photoanode has large surface area and exhibits excellent light scattering, allowing for fast interfacial charge transfer and less charge recombination, which are characterized using the UV-vis absorbance spectra, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. However, further work is needed to overcome the limitations of TiO2 NP/NR and improve the performance of TiO2 NP/NR-based DSSC.

Keywords

compositenanostructurephotovoltaic
Type
Article
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 34 , Issue 7: Focus Section: Interconnects and Interfaces in Energy Conversion Materials , 15 April 2019 , pp. 1155 - 1166
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2019 

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