Fe/ZnO nanorod photoanode and pyrocatechol violet sensitizer based dye sensitized solar cells

A ZnO and Fe/ZnO nanorods have been prepared and used in dye sensitized solar cells. The prepared ZnO and Fe/ZnO nanorods were characterized by XRD, SEM and SEM-EDS. Additionally, the pyrocatechol violet solutions with different pH values have been prepared, characterized and used in dye sensitized solar cells. The dyes which have different pH values were characterized via UV-Vis absorbance and cyclic voltammetry techniques. The Fe doping to ZnO nanorods increased the solar cell efficiency by 20-35%. The pyrocatechol violet dye can be binded to Fe atoms on the ZnO surface and the possible mechanism was discussed in detailed. The efficiency of champion solar cell is obtained 1.39% with Fe/ZnO photoanode and pH 7.5 pyrocatechol violet dye solution.

Keywords:

dye sensitized solar cells, Fe/ZnO nanorods, pyrocatechol violet different pH,

PDF

___

[1] A. Hagfeldt, G. Boschloo, L. Sun, L. Kloo, and H. Pettersson, “Dye-sensitized solar cells.,” Chem. Rev., vol. 110, pp. 6595–6663, 2010.
[2] N. Kannan and D. Vakeesan, “Solar energy for future world: - A review,” Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 62, pp. 1092–1105, 2016.
[3] V. Sugathan, E. John, and K. Sudhakar, “Recent improvements in dye sensitized solar cells : A review,” Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 52, pp. 54–64, 2015.
[4] S. Çakar and M. Özacar, “Fe-quercetin coupled different shaped ZnO rods based dye sensitized solar cell applications,” Sol. Energy, vol. 155, pp. 233–245, 2017.
[5] G. Calogero and G. Di Marco, “Red Sicilian orange and purple eggplant fruits as natural sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells,” Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells, vol. 92, no. 11, pp. 1341–1346, 2008.
[6] G. Calogero, J.-H. Yum, A. Sinopoli, G. Di Marco, M. Grätzel, and M. K. Nazeeruddin, “Anthocyanins and betalains as light-harvesting pigments for dye-sensitized solar cells,” Sol. Energy, vol. 86, no. 5, pp. 1563–1575, May 2012.
[7] G. Calogero, A. Bartolotta, G. Di Marco, A. Di Carlo, and F. Bonaccorso, “Vegetable-based dye-sensitized solar cells,” Chem. Soc. Rev., vol. 44, no. 10, pp. 3244–3294, 2015.
[8] J. Gong, J. Liang, and K. Sumathy, “Review on dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs): Fundamental concepts and novel materials,” Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 16, no. 8, pp. 5848–5860, 2012.
[9] B. Roose, S. Pathak, and U. Steiner, “Doping of TiO2 for sensitized solar cells,” Chem. Soc. Rev., vol. 44, no. 22, pp. 8326–8349, 2015.
[10] R. Vittal and K.-C. Ho, “Zinc oxide based dye-sensitized solar cells: A review,” Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., 2016.
[11] S. Çakar and M. Özacar, “Fe-quercetin coupled different shaped ZnO rods based dye sensitized solar cell applications,” Sol. Energy, 2017.
[12] S. Çakar and M. Özacar, “Fe–tannic acid complex dye as photo sensitizer for different morphological ZnO based DSSCs,” Spectrochim. Acta Part A Mol. Biomol. Spectrosc., vol. 163, pp. 79–88, 2016.
[13] X. Wang, S. Bi, N. Gan, and Z. Wei, “Aluminum Speciation with Adsorptive Pyrocatechol Violet-Al(III) Complex by Derivative Adsorption Chronopotentiometry,” Electroanalysis, vol. 13, no. 15, pp. 1279–1286, 2001.
[14] Q. Wang, Y. F. Nie, X. Y. Chen, Z. H. Xiao, and Z. J. Zhang, “Use of pyrocatechol violet as an effective redox additive for highly promoting the supercapacitor performances,” J. Power Sources, vol. 323, pp. 8–16, 2016.
[15] S. Ayaz and Y. Dilgin, “Flow injection amperometric determination of hydrazine based on its electrocatalytic oxidation at pyrocatechol violet modified pencil graphite electrode,” Electrochim. Acta, vol. 258, pp. 1086–1095, 2017.
[16] S. Çakar, N. Güy, M. Özacar, and F. Fındık, “Investigation of Vegetable Tannins and Their Iron Complex Dyes for Dye Sensitized Solar Cell Applications,” Electrochim. Acta, vol. 209, pp. 407–422, Aug. 2016.
[17] R. D. Shannon, “Revised Effective Ionic Radii and Systematic Studies of Interatomic Distances in Halides and Chalcogenides,” Acta Crystallogr., vol. A32, pp. 751–767, 1976.
[18] M. R. Parra and F. Z. Haque, “Aqueous chemical route synthesis and the effect of calcination temperature on the structural and optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles,” J. Mater. Res. Technol., vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 363–369, Oct. 2014.
[19] J. H. Huang, P. Y. Hung, S. F. Hu, and R. S. Liu, “Improvement efficiency of a dye-sensitized solar cell using Eu3+ modified TiO2 nanoparticles as a secondary layer electrode,” J. Mater. Chem., vol. 20, no. 31, pp. 6505–6511, 2010.
[20] B. Zhu, X. Zhang, M. Han, P. Deng, and Q. Li, “Novel planar binuclear zinc phthalocyanine sensitizer for dye-sensitized solar cells: Synthesis and spectral, electrochemical, and photovoltaic properties,” J. Mol. Struct., vol. 1079, pp. 61–66, 2014.
[21] D. Sengupta, B. Mondal, and K. Mukherjee, “Visible light absorption and photo-sensitizing properties of spinach leaves and beetroot extracted natural dyes.,” Spectrochim. Acta. A. Mol. Biomol. Spectrosc., vol. 148, pp. 85–92, Sep. 2015.
[22] J. Liu, X. Sun, Z. Li, B. Jin, G. Lai, H. Li, C. Wang, Y. Shen, and J. Hua, “New D-π-A system dye based on dithienosilole and carbazole: Synthesis, photo-electrochemical properties and dye-sensitized solar cell performance,” J. Photochem. Photobiol. A Chem., vol. 294, pp. 54–61, 2014.
[23] M. Han, X. Zhang, X. Zhang, C. Liao, B. Zhu, and Q. Li, “Azo-coupled zinc phthalocyanines: Towards broad absorption and application in dye-sensitized solar cells,” Polyhedron, vol. 85, pp. 864–873, 2015.