Influences of textures in fluorine-doped tin oxide on characteristics of dye-sensitized solar cells

We investigated the influences of textures in the transparent conductor fluorine-doped tin oxides (FTO) on characteristics and performances of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). FTO conductors having varied textures were characterized for their physical, electrical and optical properties and were subjected to device studies to establish the correlation between FTO textures and DSSC characteristics/performances. The results suggest that the highly textured and high-haze FTO can effectively scatter a portion of the incident light into larger angles in the device, enhancing the propagation length and trapping of the incident light within the device and contributing to significant enhancement of absorption (and thus short-circuit current, quantum efficiency, and power conversion efficiency) in the device configuration. As a result, the conversion efficiency of the DSSC was enhanced from 8.18% to 10.1%, an improvement by 24%, with using the highly textured, large-roughness and high-haze FTO as the transparent conductor.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Influences of textures in FTO on characteristics of DSSCs were investigated. ► Textured FTO can effectively scatter the incident light into larger angles. ► Textured FTO can enhance the optical absorption and trapping within the DSSC. ► Efficiency of DSSCs increased from 8.18% to 10.1% by using highly textured FTO.