Institute for Color Science and Technology (ICST) Progress in Color, Colorants and Coatings 2008-2134 14 2 2021 05 01 Investigating the Effects of Thickness on the Performance of ZnO-Based DSSC 101 112 81685 10.30509/pccc.2021.81685 EN E. Kouhestanian Thin Layer and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Chemical Technology, Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), Tehran, Iran. M. Ranjbar Thin Layer and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Chemical Technology, Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), Tehran, Iran. S. A. Mozaffari Thin Layer and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Chemical Technology, Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), Tehran, Iran. H. Salaramoli Thin Layer and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Chemical Technology, Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), Tehran, Iran. Journal Article 2020 03 25 Zinc oxide nanostructures exhibit unique properties which make them suitable for dye-sensitized solar cell applications. Their specific properties such as appropriate optical properties, proper energy band gap and high electron transfer characteristics have motivated researchers to use them in the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cell photo-anodes. In the present study, the effect of thickness on the performance of a new ZnO photo-anode has been studied. All the photovoltaic parameters of the cells fabricated using N719 ruthenium dye were measured. SEM technique was utilized to determine the thickness and the UV-Visible method was used to study the transparent properties of the photo-anodes. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technique was employed to determine the appropriate equivalent circuit for studying the electron transfer mechanisms in all the fabricated cells. The results demonstrated that the ZnO thickness is a critical parameter for providing either sufficient resistance to suppress the charge recombination process or appropriate electron transferring properties. The optimized ZnO photo-anode was obtained at a thickness of 19 µm, which resulted in an efficiency of 3.22%.

https://pccc.icrc.ac.ir/article_81685_e3625b622de5fd5dbfadc4b039e88f82.pdf