High-Performance Nanoporous TiO2/La2O3 Hybrid Photoanode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Author(s)
Yu, Hua
Xue, Bofei
Liu, Porun
Qiu, Jingxia
Wen, William
Zhang, Shanqing
Zhao, Huijun
Year published
2012
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
An organic lanthanum solution was prepared and used for modifying the nanoporous TiO2 photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The preliminary characterization results demonstrate that La2O3 was formed on the surface of the TiO2 photoanodes. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses suggest that La3+ was introduced into the TiO2 nanocrystalline, while, the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tunnelling electron microscopy (TEM) characterizations suggest that a thin La2O3 layer forms on surface of the TiO2 nanostructure. The La2O3 layer is able to alleviate the electron ...
View more >An organic lanthanum solution was prepared and used for modifying the nanoporous TiO2 photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The preliminary characterization results demonstrate that La2O3 was formed on the surface of the TiO2 photoanodes. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses suggest that La3+ was introduced into the TiO2 nanocrystalline, while, the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tunnelling electron microscopy (TEM) characterizations suggest that a thin La2O3 layer forms on surface of the TiO2 nanostructure. The La2O3 layer is able to alleviate the electron recombination as a passivation layer. Though the slight decrease in surface areas were induced by the surface modification, the dye loading were maintained, which can be attributed to the formation of strong coordination bonding between the dye molecules and the lanthanide. The bonding can also facilitate the electron transfer between the dye molecules and TiO2 conduction band. Consequently, the open circuit potential and short circuit current were boosted significantly and the overall energy conversion efficiency of the DSSCs was remarkably improved from 6.84% for the control film to 9.67% for the La3+-modified film.
View less >
View more >An organic lanthanum solution was prepared and used for modifying the nanoporous TiO2 photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The preliminary characterization results demonstrate that La2O3 was formed on the surface of the TiO2 photoanodes. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses suggest that La3+ was introduced into the TiO2 nanocrystalline, while, the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tunnelling electron microscopy (TEM) characterizations suggest that a thin La2O3 layer forms on surface of the TiO2 nanostructure. The La2O3 layer is able to alleviate the electron recombination as a passivation layer. Though the slight decrease in surface areas were induced by the surface modification, the dye loading were maintained, which can be attributed to the formation of strong coordination bonding between the dye molecules and the lanthanide. The bonding can also facilitate the electron transfer between the dye molecules and TiO2 conduction band. Consequently, the open circuit potential and short circuit current were boosted significantly and the overall energy conversion efficiency of the DSSCs was remarkably improved from 6.84% for the control film to 9.67% for the La3+-modified film.
View less >
Journal Title
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume
4
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
Self-archiving of the author-manuscript version is not yet supported by this journal. Please refer to the journal link for access to the definitive, published version or contact the authors for more information.
Subject
Chemical sciences
Solid state chemistry
Colloid and surface chemistry
Electrochemistry
Engineering
Physical sciences