Study of How Photoelectrodes Modified by TiO 2 /Ag Nanofibers in Various Structures Enhance the Efficiency of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells under Low Illumination

Yu-Hsun Nien, Huang-Hua Chen, Hui-Hsuan Hsu, Manjunath Rangasamy, Geng-Ming Hu, Zhen-Rong Yong, Po-Yu Kuo, Jung-Chuan Chou, Chih-Hsien Lai, Cheng-Chu Ko and Jun-Xiang Chang
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Yu-Hsun Nien: Graduate School of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliou 64002, Taiwan
Huang-Hua Chen: Graduate School of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliou 64002, Taiwan
Hui-Hsuan Hsu: Graduate School of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliou 64002, Taiwan
Manjunath Rangasamy: Graduate School of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliou 64002, Taiwan
Geng-Ming Hu: Graduate School of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliou 64002, Taiwan
Zhen-Rong Yong: Graduate School of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliou 64002, Taiwan
Po-Yu Kuo: Graduate School of Electronic Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliou 64002, Taiwan
Jung-Chuan Chou: Graduate School of Electronic Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliou 64002, Taiwan
Chih-Hsien Lai: Graduate School of Electronic Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliou 64002, Taiwan
Cheng-Chu Ko: Graduate School of Electronic Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliou 64002, Taiwan
Jun-Xiang Chang: Graduate School of Electronic Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliou 64002, Taiwan

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-14

Abstract: Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are low-cost solar cells belonging to the thin-film photovoltaic cell type. In this study, we studied the photovoltaic performances of DSSCs based on titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanofibers (NFs) containing silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) under low illumination. We used the sol-gel method with the electrospinning technique to prepare the TiO 2 NFs containing Ag NPs. Herein, we used two ways to add TiO 2 /Ag NFs to modify the photoelectrode successfully and enhance the performance of DSSCs. One way was that the TiO 2 /Ag NFs were mixed with pristine TiO 2 ; the other way was that the TiO 2 /Ag NFs were seeded beside the TiO 2 colloid layer as an additional layer on the photoelectrode of the DSSC. According to this experiment, the photovoltaic conversion efficiency of the DSSC which had TiO 2 /Ag NF seeded as an additional layer on the photoelectrode (5.13%) was increased by 28% compared to the DSSC without the photoelectrode modification (3.99%). This was due to the suppression of electron recombination and the more effective utilization of the light radiation by adding the TiO 2 /Ag NFs. Because of the good conductivity of Ag, the electrons were quickly transported and electron recombination was reduced. In addition, the photovoltaic conversion efficiency of the DSSC which had TiO 2 /Ag NF seeded as an additional layer on the photoelectrode increased from 5.13% to 6.23% during the decrease in illumination from 100 mW/cm 2 to 30 mW/cm 2 ; however, its photovoltaic conversion efficiency decreased to 5.31% when the illumination was lowered to 10 mW/cm 2 .

Keywords: dye-sensitized solar cells; electrospinning; nanofibers; photovoltaic conversion efficiency; low illumination (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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