Enhancement of photovoltaic performance using a novel photocathode based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/Ag–CuO nanocomposite in dye-sensitized solar cells

A novel counter electrode (CE) based on a silver and copper oxide nanocomposite is developed and characterized by XRD and FE-SEM. A polymeric system containing poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) is employed as the conductive polymer to prepare a transparent CE for a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) device. Electrochemical analysis is used to study the catalytic activity of the reduction of triiodide ions in different DSSC-based CEs. To study the effect of photoelectrode modification on charge-transfer resistance, alternating current impedance spectroscopy is carried out. Power conversion efficiency and short-circuit current density ($J_{\mathrm{SC}}$) increase from 8.01% to 9.06% and 16.18 to 17.79 mA/cm2, respectively, due to the significantly improved electrical conductivity and electrocatalytic activity of the novel PEDOT/Ag–CuO nanocomposite-based CE

Enhancement of photovoltaic performance using a novel photocathode based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/Ag–CuO nanocomposite in dye-sensitized solar cells

A novel counter electrode (CE) based on a silver and copper oxide nanocomposite is developed and characterized by XRD and FE-SEM. A polymeric system containing poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) is employed as the conductive polymer to prepare a transparent CE for a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) device. Electrochemical analysis is used to study the catalytic activity of the reduction of triiodide ions in different DSSC-based CEs. To study the effect of photoelectrode modification on charge-transfer resistance, alternating current impedance spectroscopy is carried out. Power conversion efficiency and short-circuit current density ($J_{\mathrm{SC}}$) increase from 8.01% to 9.06% and 16.18 to 17.79 mA/cm2, respectively, due to the significantly improved electrical conductivity and electrocatalytic activity of the novel PEDOT/Ag–CuO nanocomposite-based CE

The investigation on different light harvesting layers and their sufficient effect on the photovoltaic characteristics in dye sensitized solar cell

Titanium dioxide-based nanofibers (TiO2 nanofiber) were prepared by an electrospinning technique. The electrospun composite fibers were synthesized at different concentrations of titanium isopropoxide (25.35, 50.69, 76.05 wt%) and calcinated at different temperatures (450 oC, 650 oC and 850 oC) for 2 h. The diameters of nanofibers decreased by increasing the inorganic part of composite nanofibers and principally depicted anatase, anatase- rutile and rutile phases. By increasing temperature from 450 oC to 850 oC, the anatase phase decreased whereas the rutile phase increased. The different optimized TiO2 nanofibers were prepared and utilized as a sufficient scattering layer for the photoanode in dye sensitized solar cells. Then, the electron transport and recombination in TiO2 nanofiber based dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was investigated. It was shown that the electron life time in DSSCs with TiO2 nanofibers, as a scattering layer, increases in different photoanode electrodes compared to that on DSSCs based on nanoparticles. As a result, conversion efficiency of 5.6% is realized, which is 55.37% higher than TiO2 photoanodes without addition of nanofibers as a scattering layer

Improving the effective photovoltaic performance in dye-sensitized solar cells using an azobenzenecarboxylic acid-based system

In this research, an azobenzenecarboxylic acid was used as a sufficient co-adsorbent in combination with N719 dye. As it is found from the results, an optimized concentration of the co-absorbent leads to the highest efficiency. The dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) parameters such as short-circuit current (Jsc), open-circuit voltage (Voc) and conversion efficiency (η) were obtained -14.87 mA/cm2, 0.765 V and 5.20% respectively. Based on the results, the N719/Azobenzenecarboxylic-based system shows a significant increase in Voc and Jsc, resulting in an ∼21% improvement in the efficiency. A higher conversion efficiency for the co-adsorbent-based systems was assigned to their enhanced η, which is attributed to reduced dye aggregation, higher electron injection and increased Voc. This corresponded to the improved electron density in the TiO2 conduction band of the photoanode and reduced charge recombination revealed through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. Also, evidence was provided for a long charge life time and a high resistance of charge recombination for the co-absorbed solar cells