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Vertically aligned TiO2/ZnO nanotube arrays prepared by atomic layer deposition for photovoltaic applications

  • Materials (Organic, Inorganic, Electronic, Thin Films)
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Abstract

Vertically aligned TiO2/ZnO nanotube (NT) arrays were developed for application to photoanodes in mesoscopic solar cells. By a two-step anodic oxidation, vertically aligned TiO2 NT arrays with highly ordered surface structure were prepared, followed by deposition of a ZnO shell with a precisely controlled thickness using atomic layer deposition (ALD). When applied to a photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), the photovoltage is gradually enhanced as the ZnO shell thickness of the TiO2/ZnO NT electrodes is increased. Furtheremore, the electron lifetime in photoanodes is significantly enhanced due to the ZnO shell, which is examined by open-circuit voltage decay (OCVD) measurement. Photocurrent density-voltage (J-V) curves under the dark condition and OCVD spectra reveal that a negative shift in TiO2 conduction band potential and an energy barrier effect owing to the ZnO shell concurrently contribute to the enhancement of VOC and electron lifetime.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (No. 2017R1D1A1B03035077). We thank Kyeong-Hwan Lee for ALD deposition. Muhammad Hamid Raza thanks the University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan for the PhD allowance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Dankook University, Yongin, 16890, Korea

    Jae-Yup Kim

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Hallym University, Chuncheon, 24252, Korea

    Keun-Young Shin

  3. Institut für Chemie and IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Brook-Taylor-Straße 2, Berlin, 12489, Germany

    Muhammad Hamid Raza & Nicola Pinna

  4. Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS) and School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Korea

    Yung-Eun Sung

Authors
  1. Jae-Yup Kim
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  2. Keun-Young Shin
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  3. Muhammad Hamid Raza
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  4. Nicola Pinna
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  5. Yung-Eun Sung
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Correspondence to Jae-Yup Kim or Yung-Eun Sung.

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Kim, JY., Shin, KY., Raza, M.H. et al. Vertically aligned TiO2/ZnO nanotube arrays prepared by atomic layer deposition for photovoltaic applications. Korean J. Chem. Eng. 36, 1157–1163 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-019-0280-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-019-0280-4

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