(180cc) Photoelectrochemical Application of Tin Doped ZnO Nanostructures

Photoelectrochemical Application of Tin doped ZnO
nanostructures

Sadia Ameen, Minwu Song, Young Soon Kim, Hyung
Shik Shin*

Energy Materials &
Surface Science Laboratory, Solar Energy Research Center, School of Chemical
Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, 561-756, Republic of Korea

*Email: hsshin@jbnu.ac.kr

The simple hydrothermal method was used for synthesizing zinc oxide (ZnO)
and tin (Sn) doped ZnO. The photovoltaic performances of Sn
doped ZnO photoanodes were
studied for the application of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The doping
of Sn significantly altered the morphology of ZnO into spindle shape by the
arrangement of small ZnO nanoparticles. The crystalline and structural
properties deduced the clear decrement in the crystallite sizes from ~143.9 nm
to ~82.2 nm. The decrement in the crystallite sizes revealed the incorporation
of Sn-ion into ZnO nanomaterials, suggested the doping of Sn-ions into ZnO
nanostructures. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study showed Sn-O and
Zn-O bonding in the synthesized spindle shaped Sn-ion doped ZnO nanostructures,
which confirmed the Zn substitution by the Sn-ions. Dye sensitized solar cell
(DSSC) fabricated with Sn-ZnO photoanode
achieved a solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency of ~1.82% with short
circuit current (J_SC) of 5.1 mA/cm², open circuit voltage
(V_OC) of 0.786 V and fill factor (FF) of 0.45, which was higher than
that of DSSC with ZnO photoanode.
The increased conversion efficiency and the photocurrent density were
attributed to the significant Sn-ion doping into ZnO nanostructures and
considerable arrangement of ZnO nanoparticles into spindle shaped morphology which
might improve the high charge collection and the transfer of electrons at the
interfaces of doped ZnO layer and the electrolyte layer.