(103c) Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based On Vertically Ordered 1-D Nanostructures | AIChE

(103c) Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based On Vertically Ordered 1-D Nanostructures

Authors 

Gao, D. - Presenter, University of Pittsburgh


Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) is one of the most promising devices for low-cost solar-to-electricity energy conversion.  Although an energy conversion efficiency of 11% has been demonstrated for such cells, researchers are still seeking to further increase the efficiency by using alternative sensitizers and redox electrolytes, and to fabricate solid state or non-volatile liquid DSCs.  The progress of these efforts, however, is impeded by the disordered structure of mesoporous TiO2 films used in current DSCs.  The mesoporous TiO2 films, composed of sintered TiO2 nanoparticles, induce a short electron diffusion length, which limits further improvement in DSC performance.  The disordered porous structure also makes infiltration of solid or viscous electrolytes into the electrodes difficult and ineffective.  Synthesis and fabrication of vertically aligned 1-D nanostructure directly on transparent conducting oxides (TCO) has been identified as a promising means to overcome these issues. Here we present recent progresses we have made toward high-performance DSCs based on vertically ordered 1-D nanostructures, including (i) preferential growth of long ZnO nanowire arrays on TCO, (ii) synthesis of TiO2 nanotubes, (iii) synthesis of multilayer assembly of ZnO-TiO2 core-shell nanostructures, and (iv) high-efficiency solid-state DSCs based on multilayer assembly of hybrid ZnO-TiO2 nanostructures.
See more of this Session: Nanomaterials for Photovoltaics II

See more of this Group/Topical: Topical 5: Nanomaterials for Energy Applications

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