Hybrid Titania Photoanodes with a Nanostructured Multi-Layer Configuration for Highly Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.
To construct a hybrid titania photoanode containing nanoparticles and nanorods of varied size in a multilayer (ML) configuration for dye-sensitized solar cells, the essence of our ML design is a bilayer system with additional layers of nanorods of well-controlled size inserted between the transparent and the scattering layers to enhance the light-harvesting capability for photosensitizers with small absorptivity, such as Z907. We measured charge-extraction and intensity-modulated photoelectric spectra to show the advantages of one-dimensional nanorods with an improved electron-transport property and an upward shift of the potential band edge; a favorable ML configuration was constructed to have a cascade potential feature for feasible electron transport from long nanorods, to normal nanorods, to small nanoparticles. On the basis of the ML system reported herein, we demonstrate how the performance of a Z907 device is improved to attain η ∼10%, which is a milestone for its future commercialization.
†Department of Applied Chemistry and Institute of Molecular Science, National Chiao Tung University, No.1001, Ta Hsueh Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan.
Hui-Ping
HP
Wu
†Department of Applied Chemistry and Institute of Molecular Science, National Chiao Tung University, No.1001, Ta Hsueh Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan.
Chi-Ming
CM
Lan
†Department of Applied Chemistry and Institute of Molecular Science, National Chiao Tung University, No.1001, Ta Hsueh Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan.
Jyun-Yu
JY
Hu
†Department of Applied Chemistry and Institute of Molecular Science, National Chiao Tung University, No.1001, Ta Hsueh Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan.
Wei-Kai
WK
Huang
†Department of Applied Chemistry and Institute of Molecular Science, National Chiao Tung University, No.1001, Ta Hsueh Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan.
Jia-Wei
JW
Shiu
†Department of Applied Chemistry and Institute of Molecular Science, National Chiao Tung University, No.1001, Ta Hsueh Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan.
Zih-Jian
ZJ
Lan
†Department of Applied Chemistry and Institute of Molecular Science, National Chiao Tung University, No.1001, Ta Hsueh Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan.
Cheng-Ming
CM
Tsai
‡Mechanical and Systems Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), 195, Section 4, Chung Hsing Road, Hsinchu 31040, Taiwan.
Chun-Hsien
CH
Su
†Department of Applied Chemistry and Institute of Molecular Science, National Chiao Tung University, No.1001, Ta Hsueh Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan.
Eric Wei-Guang
EW
Diau
charge extraction; charge recombination; dye-sensitized solar cells; impedance spectroscopy; nanorods; titania