Efficient solid-state dye-sensitized n-ZnO/D-358 dye/p-CuI solar cell

This paper describes the preparation and characterization of FTO/TiO2 dense layer/ZnO nanoporous layer/D-358 Dye/CuI hole collector/Cr-coated FTO and FTO/ZnO dense layer/ZnO nanoporous layer/D-358 Dye/CuI hole collector/Cr-coated FTO dye-sensitized solid-state solar cells. The variations of the solar cell parameters on the thickness of the TiO2 or ZnO dense layer are described. As the thickness (and hence the sheet resistance) of the TiO2 dense layer is increased, the conversion efficiency is gradually increased up to 2.6% at a sheet resistance of 370.0 Ω/□ and beyond which it decreases. At this optimum thickness of the TiO2 dense layer, the best conversion efficiency is obtained when the thickness of the ZnO nanoporous layer is 15 μm. Use of ZnO dense layer instead of TiO2 dense layer also shows the similar trend of variation of solar cell parameters as the thickness of the dense layer is increased. The best conversion efficiency of 3.2% is obtained when the sheet resistance of the ZnO dense layer is 2500 Ω/□ and the thickness of the ZnO porous layer is 15 μm.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► ZnO based solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells are prepared. ► D-358 dye is used as the sensitizer. ► When the dense layer used is TiO2 the conversion efficiency is 2.6%. ► When the dense layer is ZnO the conversion efficiency is 3.2%. ► Higher electron mobility in ZnO suppresses the recombination of electrons.