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Potassium‐Doped Zinc Oxide as Photocathode Material in Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells
Author(s) -
Bai Jie,
Xu Xiaobao,
Xu Ling,
Cui Jin,
Huang Dekang,
Chen Wei,
Cheng Yibing,
Shen Yan,
Wang Mingkui
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201200935
Subject(s) - dye sensitized solar cell , materials science , photocurrent , nanoparticle , doping , energy conversion efficiency , photocathode , zinc , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , chemical engineering , electrolyte , chemistry , electrode , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering , electron , metallurgy
ZnO nanoparticles are doped with K and applied in p‐type dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The microstructure and dynamics of hole transportation and recombination are investigated. The morphology of the K‐doped ZnO nanoparticles shows a homogeneous distribution with sizes in the range 30–40 nm. When applied in p‐type DSCs in combination with C343 as sensitizer, the K‐doped ZnO nanoparticles achieve a photovoltaic power conversion efficiency of 0.012 % at full‐intensity sunlight. A further study on the device by transient photovoltage/photocurrent decay measurements shows that the K‐doped ZnO nanoparticles have an appreciable hole diffusion coefficient (ca. 10 −6 cm 2 s −1 ). Compared to the widely used p‐type NiO nanoparticles, this advantage is crucial for further improving the efficiency of p‐type DSCs.