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Effect of Er3+ and Yb3+ co-doping on the performance of a ZnO-based DSSC

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Abstract

Zinc-oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) co-doped with different concentrations of rare-earth ions of erbium and ytterbium, (ZnO: Er3+, Yb3+) were synthesized for applications to ZnO-based dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The composite NPs used for the photoelectrode (PE) were synthesized using a simple co-precipitation technique. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy measurements on the prepared samples revealed a single phase wurzite ZnO powder with approximate sizes in the range from 15 to 20 nm. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements confirmed that the synthesized composite NPs had a good up-conversion (UPC) property. The prepared powders were directly used to make PEs for DSSCs. The photovoltaic efficiency of the DSSCs was enhanced compared to that of pure ZnO-based DSSCs. Particularly, the PE made up of ZnO: Er3+, Yb3+ NPs with 4 wt% of Er3+ and Yb3+ generates a short-circuit current density (J sc ) of 4.794 mA·cm −2 and an open circuit voltage (V oc ) of 0.602 V with an efficiency (η) of 1.58%. The result indicates a 48.4% J sc improvement compared to a pure ZnO PE-based DSSC. The photocurrent improvement is due to an increase in the light-harvesting capacity of the PEs attained through the UPC property of ZnO: Er3+, Yb3+ NPs. As confirmed by PL and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS), the use of ZnO: Er3+,Yb3+ NPs as PEs for DSSCs enhances charge concentration and transport as a result of n-type doping. However, all ZnO: Er3+, Yb3+ NP based PEs exhibited a lower V oc as a result of a down shift in the Fermi energy, which affects the overall efficiency of the cell.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nanoenergy Engineering & BK21 Plus Nanoconvergence Technology Division, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241, Korea

    Ermias Libnedengel Tsege, Hong Ha Thi Vu, Timur Sh. Atabaev, Hyung-Kook Kim & Yoon-Hwae Hwang

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  1. Ermias Libnedengel Tsege
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  2. Hong Ha Thi Vu
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  3. Timur Sh. Atabaev
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  4. Hyung-Kook Kim
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  5. Yoon-Hwae Hwang
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Correspondence to Hyung-Kook Kim.

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Tsege, E.L., Vu, H.H.T., Atabaev, T.S. et al. Effect of Er3+ and Yb3+ co-doping on the performance of a ZnO-based DSSC. Journal of the Korean Physical Society 68, 1381–1389 (2016). https://doi.org/10.3938/jkps.68.1381

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3938/jkps.68.1381

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