Pace Simona, Resmini Alessandro, Tredici Ilenia G, Soffientini Alessandro, Li Xuan, Dunn Steve, Briscoe Joe, Anselmi-Tamburini Umberto
Department of Chemistry, University of Pavia Italy
School of Engineering and Materials Science and Materials Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London London UK
RSC Adv. 2018 Mar 9;8(18):9775-9782. doi: 10.1039/c7ra13128c. eCollection 2018 Mar 5.
In a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) the amount of adsorbed dye on the photoanode surface is a key factor that must be maximized in order to obtain enhanced DSSC performance. In this study 3D ZnO nanostructures, named brush-like, are demonstrated as alternative photoanodes. In these structures, long ZnO nanorods are covered with a metal-organic precursor, known as a layered-hydroxide zinc salt (LHZS), which is subsequently converted to crystalline ZnO using two-step annealing. The LHZS is able to easily grow on any surface, such as the ZnO nanorod surface, without needing the assistance of a seed-layer. Brush-like structures synthesized using different citrate concentrations in the growth solutions and different annealing conditions are characterized and tested as DSSC photoanodes. The best-performing structure reported in this study was obtained using the highest citrate concentration (1.808 mM) and the lowest temperature annealing condition in an oxidative environment. Conversion efficiency as high as 1.95% was obtained when these brush-like structures were employed as DSSC photoanodes. These results are extremely promising for the implementation of these innovative structures in enhanced DSSCs, as well as in other applications that require the maximization of surface area exposed by ZnO or similar semiconductors, such as gas- or bio-sensing or photocatalysis.
在染料敏化太阳能电池（DSSC）中，光阳极表面吸附染料的量是一个关键因素，为了提高DSSC的性能，必须使其最大化。在本研究中，一种名为刷状的三维ZnO纳米结构被证明可作为替代光阳极。在这些结构中，长ZnO纳米棒覆盖有一种金属有机前驱体，即层状氢氧化物锌盐（LHZS），随后通过两步退火将其转化为结晶ZnO。LHZS能够在任何表面上轻松生长，例如ZnO纳米棒表面，而无需种子层的辅助。使用生长溶液中不同柠檬酸盐浓度和不同退火条件合成的刷状结构作为DSSC光阳极进行了表征和测试。本研究中报道的性能最佳的结构是在氧化环境中使用最高柠檬酸盐浓度（1.808 mM）和最低温度退火条件获得的。当这些刷状结构用作DSSC光阳极时，获得了高达1.95%的转换效率。这些结果对于在增强型DSSC中以及在其他需要最大化ZnO或类似半导体暴露表面积的应用（如气体传感、生物传感或光催化）中实施这些创新结构极具前景。
