Charge transporting enhancement of NiO photocathodes for p-type dye-sensitized solar cells
Journal
Electrochimica Acta
Journal Volume
66
Pages
210-215
Date Issued
2012
Author(s)
Hsu, Chih-Yu
Chen, Wei-Ting
Chen, Yung-Chung
Yen, Yung-Sheng
Huang, Kuan-Chieh
Chu, Chih-Wei
Lin, Jiann T.
Abstract
A p-type NiO film was prepared by doctor-blading of Ni(OH) 2 paste onto FTO glass, followed by sintering at 450 °C for 30 min. The influence of nucleation condition of Ni(OH) 2 on the morphology of NiO films and consequently charge transporting behavior is investigated. A smooth and compact NiO film is obtained with smaller Ni(OH) 2 sol-gel particle size, which is confirmed by the surface topography examination. The hole transporting ability of NiO semiconductor is enhanced with such a compact film because of better interconnection between particles, as evidenced from electrochemical impedance analysis. The NiO film obtained is employed as the photocathode in p-type dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using arylamine-based dyes. The short-circuit photocurrent is two times improved to ca. 2.0 mA cm -2 compared to rough films. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
SDGs
Type
journal article