Study On Preparation And Performance Of Scattering Materials In Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

Photoanode is a core component in dye-sensitized solar cell?DSSC?and properties of it directly affect the device performance.Due to the small particle size,DSSCs prepared with P25,which are widely used,can't make full use of the incident sunlight.The scattering layer is an effective way to increase the optical path in photoanodes and improve the light utilization.To get better conversion efficiency,different scattering materials were prepared and applied in photoanodes.1)The urchin-like TiO₂ was prepared by a simple single-step solvothermal process under different treated hours.The physical properties,growth process and optimality condition of samples were characterized by SEM,XRD and J-V curves.The optimum sample was applied in scattering layers and five photoanode films with different internal structures were fabricated by printing different layers of the urchin-like TiO₂on FTO glass.UV-vis diffuse reflection spectra,J-V curves and EIS were used to investigate the optical and electrochemical properties of these photoanodes in DSSCs.The highest photoelectric conversion efficiency is 7.86%gotted from PS-1/5.The improvement is attributed to enhanced light utilization and more dye adsorption derived from the prepared sample.2)Three-dimensional TiO₂ microspheres doped with N were synthesized by a simple single-step solvothermal method and the sample treated for 15 h?hereafter called TMF?was then used as scattering layers in the photoanodes of dye-sensitized solar cells?DSSCs?.The TMF was characterized using SEM,TEM,BET measurements,XRD,and XPS.The TMF had a high surface area of 93.2 m² g^-1 which was beneficial for more dye-loading.Five photoanode films with different internal structures were fabricated by printing different numbers of TMF scattering layers on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass.UV-vis diffuse reflection spectra,IPCE,J-V curves and EIS were used to investigate the optical and electrochemical properties of these photoanodes in DSSCs.The presence of nitrogen in the TMF changed the TMF microstructure,which led to a higher open circuit voltage and a longer electron lifetime.In addition,the presence of the nitrogen significantly improved the light utilization and photocurrent.The highest photoelectric conversion efficiency achieved was 8.08%,which is much higher than that derived from typical P25 nanoparticles.