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Preparation and performance of dye-sensitized solar cells based on ZnO-modified TiO2 electrodes

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Abstract

The ZnO-modified TiO2 electrode was prepared by adding Zn(CH3COO)2·2H2O to the TiO2 colloid during the sol-gel production process, and was used in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The open circuit voltage (V OC) and fill factor (ff) of the cells were improved significantly. The performances of the ZnO-modified TiO2 electrode such as dark current, transient photocurrent, impedance, absorption spectra, and flat band potential (V fb) were investigated. It is found that the interface charge recombination impedance increases and V fb shifts about 200 mV toward the cathodic potential. The effect mechanism of ZnO modification on the performance of DSCs may be that ZnO occupies the surface states of the TiO2 film.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Physics and Electrics, He’nan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China

    Sheng-jun Li & Zeng Chen

  2. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Photochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100080, China

    Sheng-jun Li, Yuan Lin, Wei-wei Tan, Jing-bo Zhang, Xiao-wen Zhou & Jin-mao Chen

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  1. Sheng-jun Li
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  2. Yuan Lin
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  3. Wei-wei Tan
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  4. Jing-bo Zhang
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  6. Jin-mao Chen
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  7. Zeng Chen
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Correspondence to Sheng-jun Li.

Additional information

This work was financially supported by the Major State Basic Research Development Program of China (No.2006CB202605) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.50473055).

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Li, Sj., Lin, Y., Tan, Ww. et al. Preparation and performance of dye-sensitized solar cells based on ZnO-modified TiO2 electrodes. Int J Miner Metall Mater 17, 92–97 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-010-0116-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-010-0116-z

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