Influence of thickness and morphology of MoS₂ on the performance of counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

• Lam Thuy Thi Mai,
• Hai Viet Le,
• Ngan Kim Thi Nguyen,
• Van La Tran Pham,
• Thu Anh Thi Nguyen,
• Nguyen Thanh Le Huynh and
• Hoang Thai Nguyen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 528–537, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.44

• conventional Pt/FTO CE (15.3 mA·cm−2). This work reports for the first time the possibility to obtain a honeycomb-like MoS2 thin film morphology by the CV method and investigates the effect of film structure on the electrocatalytic activity and photovoltaic performance of CEs for DSSC application. Keywords

• couple. The as-prepared MoS2 thin films were directly used as CE for DSSCs. The structure and morphology of the MoS2 thin films and their corresponding DSSC performance have been carefully evaluated. Furthermore, the effect of MoS2 film thickness on the performance of DSSCs has also been discussed. It

• should be noted that this is the first report dealing with the fabrication of MoS2 honeycomb-like thin films for DSSC application. Results and Discussion Electrodeposition of MoS2 thin films Electrodeposition of MoS2 thin films was carried out from precursor solutions containing a mixture of (NH4)6Mo7O24

Nontoxic pyrite iron sulfide nanocrystals as second electron acceptor in PTB7:PC₇₁BM-based organic photovoltaic cells

• Olivia Amargós-Reyes,
• José-Luis Maldonado,
• Omar Martínez-Alvarez,
• María-Elena Nicho,
• José Santos-Cruz,
• Juan Nicasio-Collazo,
• Irving Caballero-Quintana and
• Concepción Arenas-Arrocena

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2238–2250, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.216

• (8%) similar to that of a Pt counter electrode in DSSC [9], which could be due to the high catalytic activity of pyrite. When the film is doped with ethanedithiol (EDT), the conversion efficiency is increased by about 20% as compared to the pure pyrite thin film [12]. Also, FeS2 NPs of 30 nm size

Comparing a porphyrin- and a coumarin-based dye adsorbed on NiO(001)

• Sara Freund,
• Antoine Hinaut,
• Nathalie Marinakis,
• Edwin C. Constable,
• Ernst Meyer,
• Catherine E. Housecroft and
• Thilo Glatzel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 874–881, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.88

• semiconductor TiO2 has become one of the most extensively studied metal oxides, especially in the context of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) [1]. The working principle of an n-type DSSC, which is shown in Figure 1a, relies on the functionalization of TiO2 surfaces with dye molecules enabling the absorption of

• charge transfer intensity appears to be roughly equal to −0.06e−/nm2 when calculated as a function of active area instead of single molecules. Consequently, if we think about building a DSSC device, this implies that C343 will result in active electrodes that would be 2.5-times less efficient in terms of

A scanning probe microscopy study of nanostructured TiO₂/poly(3-hexylthiophene) hybrid heterojunctions for photovoltaic applications

• Laurie Letertre,
• Roland Roche,
• Olivier Douhéret,
• Hailu G. Kassa,
• Denis Mariolle,
• Nicolas Chevalier,
• Łukasz Borowik,
• Philippe Dumas,
• Benjamin Grévin,
• Roberto Lazzaroni and
• Philippe Leclère

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2087–2096, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.197

• other hand. Hybrid PV devices include various technologies such as perovskite cells, dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC), with power efficiencies up to 13% [5] and hybrid bulk heterojunctions (HBHJ), which combine an organic matrix and inorganic semiconducting nanostructures such as quantum dots. Among

• the electron acceptor materials commonly used for DSSC and HBHJ, titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a well-known metal oxide semiconductor [6][7][8]. Depending on its nanostructure and its crystalline phase, its conductivity varies from 10−4 Ω−1·cm−1 to 10−11 Ω−1·cm−1 [9][10]. TiO2 is very valuable because it

Semi-automatic spray pyrolysis deposition of thin, transparent, titania films as blocking layers for dye-sensitized and perovskite solar cells

• Hana Krýsová,
• Josef Krýsa and
• Ladislav Kavan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1135–1145, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.105

• ), solid state dye-sensitized solar cells (SSDSSCs) and perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are attractive alternatives to solid state photovoltaics at competitive cost. The general concept of a DSSC is based on a liquid junction photo-electrochemical cell with a nanocrystalline TiO2 photoanode that is

Three-in-one approach towards efficient organic dye-sensitized solar cells: aggregation suppression, panchromatic absorption and resonance energy transfer

• Jayita Patwari,
• Samim Sardar,
• Bo Liu,
• Peter Lemmens and
• Samir Kumar Pal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1705–1713, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.171

• , Mendelssohnstraße 3, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany Laboratory for Emerging Nanometrology, TU Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.8.171 Abstract In the present study, protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) and squarine (SQ2) have been used in a co-sensitized dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) to apply their high

• device performance with a chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) added to a SQ2-sensitized DSSC. Apart from increasing the absorption window, the FRET-induced enhanced photocurrent and the anti-aggregating behavior of PPIX towards SQ2 are crucial points that improve the performance of the co-sensitized DSSC

• . Keywords: anti-aggregation; co-sensitization; dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC); Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET); NIR harvesting; panchromatic absorption; Introduction The increasing demand for fossil-fuel energy sources and the intensifying environmental pollution have promoted an extensive

Performance of natural-dye-sensitized solar cells by ZnO nanorod and nanowall enhanced photoelectrodes

• Saif Saadaoui,
• Mohamed Aziz Ben Youssef,
• Moufida Ben Karoui,
• Rached Gharbi,
• Emanuele Smecca,
• Vincenzina Strano,
• Salvo Mirabella,
• Alessandra Alberti and
• Rosaria A. Puglisi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 287–295, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.31

• as a thin film at the photoanode side of the DSSC. The ZnO layers were annealed at different temperatures under various gas sources. Indeed, the forming gas (FG) (N2/H2 95:5) was found to enhance the conductivity by a factor of 103 compared to nitrogen (N2) or oxygen (O2) annealing gas. The NR width

• promising green industry for the future power demand. Among these technological resources, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have shown good performance since their first demonstration by O'Regan and Grätzel in 1991 [2]. Figure 1a shows the standard structure of DSSC: The first part of this structure

• dyes extracted from henna and mallow plants. We discuss also their application to different semiconductor structures. The photoelectrode is regarded as an important part in the DSSC where it represents the electron generator of the cell. Solar cell parameters, such as open-circuit voltage (Voc), short

Performance of colloidal CdS sensitized solar cells with ZnO nanorods/nanoparticles

• Anurag Roy,
• Partha Pratim Das,
• Mukta Tathavadekar,
• Sumita Das and
• Parukuttyamma Sujatha Devi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 210–221, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.23

• voltage (VOC) of 0.67 V was achieved for the ZnO nanorod/nanoparticle assembled structure. The introduction of ZnO nanorods over the nanoparticle led to a significant enhancement of the overall efficiency compared to the corresponding bare nanoparticles. Keywords: DSSC; QDSSC; quantum dot; solar cells

• electrons. Commonly used dye molecules are Ru-based N719 and N3. However, recently, chalcogenide semiconductors such as CdS, InP, CdSe, PbS, CdSe, Sb2S3 have been explored for replacing the sensitizers in DSSC [1][2][3][4]. Thus, there has been a renewed interest in the area of DSSC, resulting in the

• photoelectrode surface and (iii) poor fill factors of the as-prepared DSSC devices. Conclusion Colloidal CdS NPs have been synthesized through a bioinspired route using bovine serum albumin as a template. The structural, microstructural and optical studies confirmed the formation of phase pure cubic CdS NPs with

Scanning probe microscopy studies on the adsorption of selected molecular dyes on titania

• Jakub S. Prauzner-Bechcicki,
• Lukasz Zajac,
• Piotr Olszowski,
• Res Jöhr,
• Antoine Hinaut,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Bartosz Such,
• Ernst Meyer and
• Marek Szymonski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1642–1653, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.156

• . Needless to say, there are many wide-band-gap materials that are studied in the context of photovoltaic applications. However, among them, titanium dioxide seems to be favoured. Indeed, since O’Regan and Grätzel published their seminal paper [2], the interest surrounding dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC

• first layer are strongly coupled, whereas the FePcs in the second layer are not severely affected by bonding to the surface and exhibit bulk-like electronic properties. The electronic properties of the second and subsequent layers are favourable for DSSC applications. However, the strong coupling of the

• defects commonly found in TiO2(110) surfaces. The energy level alignment is of crucial importance for DSSC applications of titania. The authors took special care to prepare a sample with unsaturated oxygen vacancies [59] because it is known that they can be easily passivated even at very low partial

Experimental determination of the light-trapping-induced absorption enhancement factor in DSSC photoanodes

• Serena Gagliardi and
• Mauro Falconieri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 886–892, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.91

• Serena Gagliardi Mauro Falconieri ENEA, C. R. Casaccia via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Roma, Italy 10.3762/bjnano.6.91 Abstract For dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), the fundamental process that determines the maximum short-circuit current is the absorption of light. In such devices, this is

• optical model, the DSSC short-circuit current can be calculated with good agreement with the value measured in practical devices based on the same photoanode structures. Therefore, our approach provides a realistic description of a practical device and can be exploited as an useful tool to assess the

• recognized target for renewable energy production. Among the different technologies, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) have attracted particular interest, starting from the publication of the seminal paper of Gratzel and O’Reagan in 1991 [1]. A DSSC is a photoelectrochemical system, similar to others studied

Optical modeling-assisted characterization of dye-sensitized solar cells using TiO₂ nanotube arrays as photoanodes

• Jung-Ho Yun,
• Il Ku Kim,
• Yun Hau Ng,
• Lianzhou Wang and
• Rose Amal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 895–902, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.102

• information in assigning major contributing factors in the improvement of DSSC performance. In this work, we present a comprehensive study on the ruthenium-based N719 dye-sensitized solar cells using TNT photoanodes through experimental work coupled with optical modeling analysis. The photovoltaic

• arrays as photoelectrodes. The DSSC with 3.3 μm long TNT arrays shows a short-circuit density (Jsc) of 1.32 mA·cm−2, an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.76 V, and a fill factor (FF) of 0.65, with a solar energy conversion efficiency of 0.65%. Meanwhile, 11.5 and 20.6 μm long TNT array-based DSSCs

• exhibited increases in Jsc to 6.02 mA·cm−2 (FF = 0.62) and 8.26 mA·cm−2 (FF = 0.67), respectively, whereas their Voc values were reduced to 0.72 and 0.70 V, respectively. Consequently, in comparison with the photovoltaic performances of the 3.3 μm long TNT-based DSSC, these photovoltaic performances led to

Nanostructure sensitization of transition metal oxides for visible-light photocatalysis

• Hongjun Chen and
• Lianzhou Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 696–710, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.82

• dyes or quantum dots, the plasmonic metal nanostructures can also be used as photosensitizer to effectively improve the visible-light response of transition metal oxides, which yields novel heterostructures of plasmonic metal photosensitized photocatalysts with a variety of applications including DSSC

Self-assembled monolayers and titanium dioxide: From surface patterning to potential applications

• Yaron Paz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 845–861, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.94

Highly efficient ZnO/Au Schottky barrier dye-sensitized solar cells: Role of gold nanoparticles on the charge-transfer process

• Tanujjal Bora,
• Htet H. Kyaw,
• Soumik Sarkar,
• Samir K. Pal and
• Joydeep Dutta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 681–690, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.73

• for Basic Sciences, Sector - III, Block - JD, Salt Lake, Kolkata 700098, India 10.3762/bjnano.2.73 Abstract Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods decorated with gold (Au) nanoparticles have been synthesized and used to fabricate dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The picosecond-resolved, time-correlated single

• -photon-count (TCSPC) spectroscopy technique was used to explore the charge-transfer mechanism in the ZnO/Au-nanocomposite DSSC. Due to the formation of the Schottky barrier at the ZnO/Au interface and the higher optical absorptions of the ZnO/Au photoelectrodes arising from the surface plasmon absorption

• of the Au nanoparticles, enhanced power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.49% for small-area (0.1 cm2) ZnO/Au-nanocomposite DSSC was achieved compared to the 5.34% efficiency of the bare ZnO nanorod DSSC. The TCSPC studies revealed similar dynamics for the charge transfer from dye molecules to ZnO

Schottky junction/ohmic contact behavior of a nanoporous TiO₂ thin film photoanode in contact with redox electrolyte solutions

• Masao Kaneko,
• Hirohito Ueno and
• Junichi Nemoto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 127–134, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.15

• junction, which generates a photocurrent. A crystalline n-TiO2 photoanode to decompose water by UV light attracted a great attention [3]; organic compounds have also been similarly decomposed [4][5]. Later, a nanoporous TiO2 thin film was applied to a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) [6] in which the

• mesoporous TiO2 thin film can function as a good electron-conductive material under irradiation conditions when a strong electron donor is present in the liquid. It should be noted that in a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) [6], a mesoporous TiO2 thin film also functions as an electron conductor under