title: Novel nanostructure zinc zirconate, zinc oxide or zirconium oxide pastes coated on fluorine doped tin oxide thin film as photoelectrochemical working electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cell.
abstract: Zinc zirconate (ZnZrO(3)) (ZZ), zinc oxide (ZnO) (ZO) and zirconium oxide (ZrO(2)) (ZRO) nano-particles were synthesized by simple sol-gel method. ZZ, ZO and ZRO nano-particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectrum (DRS). Nanoporous ZZ, ZO and ZRO thin films were prepared doctor blade technique on the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) and used as working electrodes in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC). Their photovoltaic behavior were compared with standard using D35 dye and an electrolyte containing [Co(bpy)(3)](PF(6))(2), [Co(pby)(3)](PF(6))(3), LiClO(4), and 4-tert-butylpyridine (TBP). The properties of DSSC have been studied by measuring their short-circuit photocurrent density (Jsc), open-circuit voltage (VOC) and fill factor (ff). The application of ZnZrO(3) as working electrode produces a significant improvement in the fill factor (ff) of the dye-sensitized solar cells (ff=56%) compared to ZnO working electrode (ff=40%) under the same condition.
authors.affiliation: Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Isfahan, Isfahan 81746-73441, Islamic Republic of Iran. habibi@chem.ui.ac.ir
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hossein Habibi
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Askari
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Habibi
authors.forename: Mahmoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zendehdel
mesh_terms: D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry; D004560:Electricity; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D004566:Electrodes; D005461:Fluorine / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012993:Solar Energy; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D017971:Tin Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction; D015032:Zinc / Q000737:chemistry*; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D015040:Zirconium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D017971:Tin Compounds; D005461:Fluorine; D015040:Zirconium; D015032:Zinc; C045358:stannic oxide; C028541:zirconium oxide; D015034:Zinc Oxide