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Enhanced Energy Conversion Efficiency of La 3+ ‐Modified Nanoporous TiO 2 Electrode Sensitized with a Ruthenium Complex
Author(s) -
WU XiaoHong,
WANG Song,
GUO Yun,
XIE ZhaoYang,
HAN Lu,
JIANG ZhaoHua
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
chinese journal of chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1614-7065
pISSN - 1001-604X
DOI - 10.1002/cjoc.200890348
Subject(s) - chemistry , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , dopant , nanoporous , open circuit voltage , doping , electrode , thin film , short circuit , ruthenium , analytical chemistry (journal) , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , materials science , voltage , catalysis , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
The nature of TiO 2 films and sensitizer play significant roles in determining the overall efficiency and mechanical stability of dye sensitized solar cell. In this study, cis ‐RuL 2 (SCN) 2 , (L=2,2′‐dipyridine‐4,4′‐dicarboxlic acid) was synthesized from 4‐methylpyridine by the procedure of cross‐coupling, oxidation, conjugation and ligand substitution. TiO 2 films were obtained by blending P25 and TiO 2 sol. To increase the photoelectric properties of the thin TiO 2 films, La(NO 3 ) 3 with different concentrations (0.1%, 0.3%, 0.5% and 0.7%) were added into the sol. Both undoped and doped samples of the thin films were sensitized by cis ‐RuL 2 (SCN) 2 and structurally characterized by X‐ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In addition, the photoelectric properties of the TiO 2 electrodes were investigated. The results show that doping lanthanum ions made the grain size smaller and surface area larger. When the concentration dopant is 0.5%, the short circuit current and open circuit voltage of the TiO 2 film reach maximum. The short circuit current increases 0.54 mA/cm 2 more than that of undoped film, and the open‐circuit voltage increases 30.41 mV more than that of undoped film.