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Electrical and photoelectrical measurements on ZnO-Nanowires coated with PEDOT:PSS for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Julia Waltermann
Affiliation:
Clausthal University of Technology, EFZN, Energy Campus, Am Stollen 19, 38640 Goslar, Germany
Kay-Michael Günther
Affiliation:
Clausthal University of Technology, EFZN, Energy Campus, Am Stollen 19, 38640 Goslar, Germany
Stefan Kontermann
Affiliation:
Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz-Institute, Am Stollen 19, 38640 Goslar, Germany
Siegfried R. Waldvogel
Affiliation:
Institute of Organic Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany
Wolfgang Schade
Affiliation:
Clausthal University of Technology, EFZN, Energy Campus, Am Stollen 19, 38640 Goslar, Germany Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz-Institute, Am Stollen 19, 38640 Goslar, Germany
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Abstract

Dye-sensitized solar cells composed of an n-doped ZnO nanowire array and a p-doped polymer layer appears to be a promising candidate for low-cost production of environment-friendly solar cells. In this work, we investigate hybrid devices consisting of a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) substrate, ZnO-nanowires (ZnO-NW) or a sol-gel prepared ZnO layer, a ruthenium dye (N719) and a PEDOT:PSS or P3HT layer. The dense polycrystalline ZnO layer is able to prevent short circuits, which have a strong effect on the performance of the solar cells. This is demonstrated by the use of only the ZnO layer which improves the open circuit voltage by a factor of 2 and the efficiency by a factor of 1.7 compared to cells with nanowires. That indicates that the system combined with a thin but dense ZnO layer and NW grown on it will show further improvement. Furthermore three different TCO substrates were investigated. Impedance spectroscopy (IS) reveals at least one additional Schottky barrier formed with ZnO:Al substrates. Spectral photovoltage measurements clearly show distinct absorption features correlated with the ZnO and N719 dye.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

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