Solution processed ZnO rectangular prism as an effective photoanode material for dye sensitized solar cells

Well crystalline ZnO rectangular prism (ZnO-RP) nanomaterials were synthesized by a low temperature solution process and employed as photoanode materials for the dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Synthesized nanomaterials featured the define rectangular prism morphology with the average thickness of ~100 nm and possessed typical hexagonal wurtzite structure. ZnO-RP photoanode presented a reasonable conversion efficiency (η) of ~3.3% along with high short circuit current (JSC) of ~8.91 mA/cm2, open circuit voltage (VOC) of ~0.725 V and fill factor (FF) of ~0.51 in DSSC. The rectangular shape of ZnO could provide high surface to volume ratio for dye absorption and light harvesting efficiency, which significantly resulted in high JSC and conversion efficiency of DSSC.