Influence of nanostructured zinc titanate, zinc oxide or titanium dioxide thin film coated on fluorine doped tin oxide as working electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cell

Abstract

A series of working electrode metal oxide semiconductor nanostructured with zinc titanate, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide were coated on the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conducting glass as working electrodes in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC). Zinc titanate (ZT), zinc oxide (ZO) and titanium dioxide (TD) nano-particles were synthesized by sol-gel method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-vis Diffuse reflectance spectrum (DRS). The influence of ZT, ZO and TD thin films was compared with standard titania cells, using D35 dye and an electrolyte containing [Co(bpy)3](PF6)2, [Co(pby)3](PF6)3, LiClO4, and 4-tert-butylpyridine (TBP). Under the same working conditions, the properties of DSSC have been studied by measuring their short-circuit photocurrent density (Jsc), open-circuit voltage (Voc) fill factor (ff) and conversion efficiency (η). The results showed that the cell made of the ZO particles exhibits the largest value of JSC and VOC among these three samples. The variation trend of VOC is the same as that of JSC, that is, ZO > ZT > ZD. The outcome of this study can be crucial for the preparation of reliable paste in a simple way for its application in DSSC. © 2012 by ESG.