Dye-sensitized solar cell based on spray deposited ZnO thin film: Performance analysis through DFT approach

•Nanocrystallites of ZnO photoanode was successfully deposited.•DSSC with Evans blue sensitized ZnO photoanode has obtained 0.1% efficiency.•HOMO level of Evans blue dye has significance in device performance.

A dye-sensitized solar cell based on a spray deposited zinc oxide (ZnO) photoanode with Evans blue as a sensitizer was fabricated. Structural analysis confirms the hexagonal wurtzite phase of the ZnO photoanode with c-axis orientation. Surface morphology of the ZnO photoanode shows uniform distribution of spherically-shaped grains, ranging from 18 nm to 25 nm. The power conversion efficiency of the device was measured as 0.1%. Density functional theory was adopted to study the observed photovoltaic performance of the fabricated device. The analysis of the electronic properties of Evans blue dye showed that it has a pronounced effect on the observed device performance.

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