Influence of Sintering Behavior of ZnO Nanoparticles on J–V Characteristics of ZnO-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Shintaro Ueno; Shinobu Fujihara

doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.445.117

Paper Titles

Preparation and Characterization of Pd-Based Optical Hydrogen Sensor Operated at Room Temperature by Using Photodeposition Process
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Synthesis and Lithium Ion Conductivities of Zirconium Phosphate-Based Solid Electrolytes
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Development of Positive Electrode Materials for the High Rate Lithium Ion Battery by Nanostructure Control
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Preparation of Cathode Materials for a Lithium-Ion Battery Using an Industrial Microwave Furnace
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Influence of Sintering Behavior of ZnO Nanoparticles on J–V Characteristics of ZnO-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
p.117

Rapid Low-Temperature Synthesis of Porous ZnO Nanoparticle Film by Self-Hydrolysis Technique
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Magnetic and Dielectric Properties of Cr₂O₃/LiNbO₃/Cr₂O₃ Multi Layer
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Dielectric Properties of Highly (001)-Plane Oriented SrBi₄Ti₄O₁₅ Thin Films
p.131

Preparation and Evaluation of TiO₂ Nanoparticle Thin Films by Electrophoresis Deposition
p.135

HomeKey Engineering MaterialsKey Engineering Materials Vol. 445Influence of Sintering Behavior of ZnO...

Influence of Sintering Behavior of ZnO Nanoparticles on J–V Characteristics of ZnO-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract:

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are one of the promising photovoltaic devices because of their lower manufacturing cost and higher energy conversion efficiency. Wide-gap, porous semiconducting metal oxides are generally used as electrode materials of DSSCs. Previously we utilized ZnO as DSSC electrodes and achieved a high conversion efficiency of 6.58% by improving the structure of ZnO films. However, open-circuit voltage (VOC), one of the factors to determine the performance of DSSCs, was still at a lower level (≈ 0.60 V) than that of common TiO2-based cells. We believe that the lower VOC is due mainly to the occurrence of recombination. In this work, we tried to enhance VOC by controlling the heating process of electrodes and suppressing the recombination for further development of ZnO-based DSSCs. As a result, we have achieved a higher VOC of 0.725 V, confirming that the sintering behavior (grain growth and/or necking of grains) influenced largely the characteristics of DSSCs.