Magnetron Sputtered Electron Blocking Layer as an Efficient Method to Improve Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Performance

Dariusz Augustowski, Paweł Kwaśnicki, Justyna Dziedzic and Jakub Rysz
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Dariusz Augustowski: Research & Development Centre for Photovoltaics, ML System S.A. Zaczernie 190G, 36-062 Zaczernie, Poland
Paweł Kwaśnicki: Research & Development Centre for Photovoltaics, ML System S.A. Zaczernie 190G, 36-062 Zaczernie, Poland
Justyna Dziedzic: Research & Development Centre for Photovoltaics, ML System S.A. Zaczernie 190G, 36-062 Zaczernie, Poland
Jakub Rysz: Department of Advanced Materials Engineering, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Science, Jagiellonian University, Łojasiewicza 11, 30-348 Cracow, Poland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-10

Abstract: The main efficiency loss is caused by an intensive recombination process at the interface of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) and electrolyte in dye-sensitized solar cells. Electrons from the photoanode can be injected back to the redox electrolyte and, thus, can reduce the short circuit current. To avoid this, the effect of the electron blocking layer (EBL) was studied. An additional thin film of magnetron sputtered TiO 2 was deposited directly onto the FTO glass. The obtained EBL was characterized by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, optical profilometry, energy dispersive spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometry. The results of the current–voltage characteristics showed that both the short circuit current (I sc ) and fill factor (FF) increased. Compared to traditional dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) architecture, the power conversion efficiency (η) increased from 4.67% to 6.07% for samples with a 7 × 7 mm 2 active area and from 2.62% to 3.06% for those with an area of 7 × 80 mm 2 .

Keywords: photovoltaics; solar cells; dye-sensitized solar cells; electron blocking layer; magnetron sputtering (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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