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Enhancement of dye-sensitized solar cell efficiency using carbon nanotube/TiO2 nanocomposite thin films fabricated at various annealing temperatures

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Abstract

To increase energy conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were added to TiO2 gel-like solution. Modified acid-catalyzed sol-gel method was used with the doctor blade coating technique to obtain thin films of CNT/TiO2 nanocomposite photoanode. CNT/TiO2 paste was applied onto the conductive glass to generate a 0.25 cm2 active area which was later annealed at 350°C, 450°C, and 550°C for 60 min. Characterization of the CNT/TiO2 paste was performed using x-ray diffraction. Results showed that the crystalline phase of the particles was anatase. The micrograph obtained using field emission scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that the pastes are highly porous. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis was performed to determine the CNT/TiO2 surface area and particle size. The DSSC with the CNT/TiO2 photoanodes annealed at 550°C showed the highest incident photon-to-charge carrier efficiency value of 0.95% compared with the DSSCs with photoanodes annealed at 350°C and 450°C (0.70% and 0.83%, respectively). The observed efficiencies of the DSSCs with CNT/TiO2 photoanode annealed at the three different temperatures were 2.62%, 2.65%, and 3.13%. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis showed that the DSSCs with photoanodes developed using the highest annealing temperature (550°C) have higher electron lifetime of 70.423 ms and lower effective recombination rate of 1.42 × 10−2 s−1, thereby improving the performance of CNT/TiO2 DSSCs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical, Electronic & System Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Huda Abdullah & Mohd Zikri Razali

  2. Institute of Microengineering and Nanoelectronic (IMEN), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Sahbudin Shaari

  3. Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Mohd Raihan Taha

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  1. Huda Abdullah
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  2. Mohd Zikri Razali
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  3. Sahbudin Shaari
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  4. Mohd Raihan Taha
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Correspondence to Huda Abdullah.

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Abdullah, H., Razali, M.Z., Shaari, S. et al. Enhancement of dye-sensitized solar cell efficiency using carbon nanotube/TiO2 nanocomposite thin films fabricated at various annealing temperatures. Electron. Mater. Lett. 10, 611–619 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13391-013-3132-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13391-013-3132-0

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