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Synthesis of hierarchical nanoparticles-based ZnO spheres for their application as the light blocking layers in dye-sensitized solar cells

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Abstract

Three-dimensional nanoparticles-based ZnO hierarchical spheres (ZnO-HS) with strong light harvesting and dye loading abilities have been fabricated by a simple hydrothermal method in this paper. These ZnO-HS were designed as the overlayer for light blocking and applied to the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on bare ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO-NP) or TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2-NP). The results show that the values of the short-circuit current density (J sc) and the power conversion efficiency (η) have been heightened up to 12.6 mA cm−2 and 3.40 % for the ZnO-NP/ZnO-HS double-layered DSSC, far higher than the bare ZnO-NP DSSC. However, another DSSC assembled by the TiO2-NP/ZnO-HS double-layered film displays an adverse result for the decreasing of J sc and η even though the ZnO-HS light blocking layer has been established on the TiO2-NP film. According to the electrochemical impedance data compared between the ZnO-NP/ZnO-HS double-layered and TiO2-NP/ZnO-HS double-layered DSSC, it is found that the former possesses less possibility for the occurrence of charge recombination and electronic loss, which is responsible for its better photovoltaic response.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (Grant No. JB-ZR1137).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Material Science and Engineering, Engineering Research Center of Environment-Friendly Functional Materials for Ministry of Education, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, 361021, People’s Republic of China

    Yongming Meng, Yu Lin, Yibing Lin, Guijing Liu & Xiaolong Zhang

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  1. Yongming Meng
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  2. Yu Lin
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  3. Yibing Lin
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  4. Guijing Liu
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  5. Xiaolong Zhang
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Correspondence to Yu Lin.

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Meng, Y., Lin, Y., Lin, Y. et al. Synthesis of hierarchical nanoparticles-based ZnO spheres for their application as the light blocking layers in dye-sensitized solar cells. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 25, 1072–1079 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-013-1689-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-013-1689-x

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