title: Screen-Printing of ZnO Nanostructures from Sol-Gel Solutions for Their Application in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.
abstract: Diblock copolymers have been used in sol-gel synthesis to successfully tailor the nanoscale morphology of thin ZnO films. As the fabrication of several-micron-thick mesoporous films such as those required in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was difficult with this approach, we exploited the benefits of diblock-copolymer-directed synthesis that made it compatible with screen printing. The simple conversion of the diblock copolymer ZnO precursor sol to a screen-printing paste was not possible as it resulted in poor film properties. To overcome this problem, an alternative route is proposed in which the diblock copolymer ZnO precursor sol is first blade coated and calcined, then converted to a screen-printing paste. This allows the benefits of diblock-copolymer-directed particle formation to be compatible with printing methods. The morphologies of the ZnO nanostructures were studied by SEM and correlated with the current density-voltage characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik-Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching (Germany).
authors.forename: Kuhu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik-Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching (Germany).
authors.forename: Erik V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Braden
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Engineering, Monash University, Room 108, Building 82 New Horizons, Clayton Campus 3800, Victoria (Australia).
authors.forename: Shannon A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Bonke
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Engineering, Monash University, Room 108, Building 82 New Horizons, Clayton Campus 3800, Victoria (Australia).
authors.forename: Udo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bach
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik-Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching (Germany). muellerb@ph.tum.de.|Nanosystems Initiative Munich, Schellingstraße 4, 80799 München (Germany). muellerb@ph.tum.de.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Müller-Buschbaum
mesh_terms: D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry; D003460:Crystallization; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012993:Solar Energy; D012996:Solutions; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D012996:Solutions; D015034:Zinc Oxide
keywords: nanostructures; sol-gel processes; template synthesis; thin films; zinc