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Multifunctional Organized Mesoporous Tin Oxide Films Templated by Graft Copolymers for Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells
Author(s) -
Park Jung Tae,
Ahn Sung Hoon,
Roh Dong Kyu,
Lee Chang Soo,
Kim Jong Hak
Publication year - 2014
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.201301215
Subject(s) - materials science , dye sensitized solar cell , mesoporous material , tin oxide , chemical engineering , dielectric spectroscopy , photocurrent , energy conversion efficiency , electrode , electrochemistry , doping , optoelectronics , organic chemistry , chemistry , electrolyte , engineering , catalysis
The synthesis of organized mesoporous SnO 2 films with high porosity, larger pores, and good interconnectivity, obtained by sol–gel templating with an amphiphilic graft copolymer, poly(vinyl chloride)‐ graft ‐poly(oxyethylene methacrylate), is reported. An improved performance of dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is demonstrated by the introduction of a 400 nm thick organized mesoporous SnO 2 interfacial (om‐SnO 2 IF) layer between nanocrystalline TiO 2 (nc‐TiO 2 ) and a fluorine‐doped tin oxide substrate. To elucidate the improved efficiency, the structural, optical, and electrochemical properties of the devices were characterized by SEM, UV/Vis spectroscopy, noncontact 3D surface profilometry, intensity‐modulated photocurrent/voltage spectroscopy, incident photon‐to‐electron conversion efficiency, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. The energy‐conversion efficiency of the solid polymerized ionic liquid based DSSC fabricated with the om‐SnO 2 IF/nc‐TiO 2 photoanode reached 5.9 % at 100 mW cm −2 ; this is higher than those of neat nc‐TiO 2 (3.5 %) and organized mesoporous TiO 2 interfacial/nc‐TiO 2 layer (5.4 %) photoanodes. The improved efficiency is attributed to the antireflective property, cascadal energy band gap, good interconnectivity, and high electrical conductivity of the om‐SnO 2 IF layer, which results in enhanced light harvesting, increased electron transport, reduced charge recombination, and decreased interfacial/internal resistance.