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The influence of magnesium oxide interfacial layer on photovoltaic properties of dye-sensitized solar cells

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Abstract

In the present study, to enhance the power conversion efficiency of the DSSCs, we introduce MgO insulating layers at the interface between TiO2 and electrolyte to decrease charge recombination rate by suppressing the electron transfer from TiO2 to the electrolyte. The thickness of the MgO layer plays a vital role in the kinetics of dye-sensitized solar cells and affects their overall efficiency. The cell with optimized thickness of MgO layer exhibits the highest conversion efficiency (η = 5.12 %) with a high short-circuit current density (18.15 mA/cm2) and open-circuit voltage (0.571 V). Open-circuit voltage decay measurement results verify the improvement of the electrons lifetime in the DSSCs fabricated with surface-modified photoanodes due to the retarding the charge recombination. In order to explore the reasons for the J SC improvement, incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency measurement was taken. Our results show that the enhancement in the photoinjected electron lifetime can contribute to an increase in the electron collection efficiency, leading to the improved J SC value. Furthermore, the enhancement in the photoinjected electron recombination rate is also demonstrated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laser and Plasma Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Evin, Tehran, 1983969411, Iran

    M. Asemi & M. Ghanaatshoar

  2. Solar Cells Research Group, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Evin, Tehran, 1983969411, Iran

    M. Asemi & M. Ghanaatshoar

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  1. M. Asemi
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  2. M. Ghanaatshoar
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Correspondence to M. Ghanaatshoar.

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Asemi, M., Ghanaatshoar, M. The influence of magnesium oxide interfacial layer on photovoltaic properties of dye-sensitized solar cells. Appl. Phys. A 122, 842 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-016-0369-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-016-0369-0

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