Effects of preannealing temperature of ZnO thin films on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells

The preferred (002) orientation zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocrystalline thin films have been deposited on FTO-coated glass substrates by sol–gel spin-coating technology and rapid thermal annealing for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The effects of preannealing temperature (100 and 300°C) on the m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics. A, Materials science & processing Materials science & processing, 2010-03, Vol.98 (3), p.595-599
Main Authors: Kao, M. C., Chen, H. Z., Young, S. L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Condensed Matter Physics
Dyes
Electric potential
Energy
Exact sciences and technology
Machines
Manufacturing
Nanotechnology
Natural energy
Optical and Electronic Materials
Photoelectric effect
Photovoltaic cells
Photovoltaic conversion
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Processes
Scanning electron microscopy
Solar cells
Solar cells. Photoelectrochemical cells
Solar energy
Surfaces and Interfaces
Thin Films
Zinc oxide
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Summary:The preferred (002) orientation zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocrystalline thin films have been deposited on FTO-coated glass substrates by sol–gel spin-coating technology and rapid thermal annealing for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The effects of preannealing temperature (100 and 300°C) on the microstructure, morphology and optical properties of ZnO thin films were studied. The ZnO thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopic (SEM) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis. The photoelectric performance of DSSC was studied by I – V curve and the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE), respectively. From the results, the intensities of (002) peaks of ZnO thin films increases with increasing preannealing temperature from 100°C to 300°C. The increase in pore size and surface area of ZnO films crystallized at the increased preannealing temperature contributed to the improvement on the absorption of N3 dye onto the films, the short-circuit photocurrent ( J sc ) and open-circuit voltage ( V oc ) of DSSC. The higher efficiency ( η ) of 2.5% with J sc and V oc of 8.2 mA/cm 2 and 0.64 V, respectively, was obtained by the ZnO film preannealed at 300°C.
ISSN:0947-8396
1432-0630
DOI:10.1007/s00339-009-5467-9