Preparation of nanoporous F-doped tin dioxide films for TCO-less dye-sensitized solar cells application

A new type of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) based on nanoporous F:SnO2 electrode without TCO layer is fabricated by sol–gel combustion method for low-cost solar cell application. The TCO-less DSCs sample is composed of a glass/dye sensitized F:SnO2 layer/electrolyte/counter electrode. The samples have crystallite size ranging from 5 to 11 nm. The mean pore size of the sample is range of 15–28 nm. The preferred orientation indicates (1 1 0), (1 0 1), (2 1 1) for SnO2 and (2 0 0) for fluorine, respectively. The efficiency of prepared nanoporous F:SnO2 based TCO-less DSCs sample is about 1.2% (ff: 0.48, Voc: 0.61 V, Jsc: 6.75 mA/cm2). The sol–gel combustion method offers a simple and effective route for the synthesis of nanoporous F:SnO2 materials, and can be useful for DSCs application.