Publication: Influence of Fe2O3 in ZnO/GO-based dye-sensitized solar cell
Date
2022
Authors
Abdullah H.
Mahalingam S.
Abu Bakar N.A.
Manap A.
Othman M.H.D.
Akhtaruzzaman M.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Abstract
This work aims to study the influence of Fe2O3 in ZnO/GO-based DSSC incorporating PAN-based gel electrolyte. ZnO�Fe2O3/GO thin films and gel electrolyte were prepared using the sol�gel technique via spin-coating and polymerization of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) methods, respectively. The insertion of Fe2O3 in ZnO/GO improved the open-circuit voltage and fill factor significantly. However, large amount of Fe2O3 (0.3%) inhibited the electron transport with high electron recombination rate (keff = 3044.62�s?1). The main reason for the low efficiency in ZnO�Fe2O3(0.3%)/GO is due to the energy band misalignment with the failure of the excited electron from the LUMO of dye into the conduction band of ZnO�Fe2O3(0.3%)/GO. The study found that the optimum concentration of Fe2O3 is 0.2% for an efficient DSSC. ZnO�Fe2O3(0.2%)/GO-based DSSC exhibited slow electron recombination of 0.751�s?1. Moreover, the fine nanoparticles of ZnO�Fe2O3(0.2%)/GO observed through field emission electron microscopy show a more porous structure that improved the short-circuit current density in DSSC. � 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
Description
Electron transport properties; Hematite; II-VI semiconductors; Open circuit voltage; Solid electrolytes; Sols; Zinc oxide; Electron recombinations; Electron transport; Excited electrons; Field emission electron microscopy; Gel electrolyte; Optimum concentration; Polyacrylonitrile (PAN); Porous structures; Dye-sensitized solar cells