Improved performance of TiO2 electrodes coated with NiO by magnetron sputtering for dye-sensitized solar cells

✍ Scribed by Li Li; Renjie Chen; Ge Jing; Guiyou Zhang; Feng Wu; Shi Chen

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 790 KB
• Volume: 256
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0169-4332
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2010.02.042

✦ Synopsis

TiO 2 electrodes are coated with NiO by DC magnetron sputtering, and their structural, optical and electrochemical performance has been investigated. X-ray diffractometry (XRD), UV-vis spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), AC impedance, and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) are used to characterize the TiO 2 /NiO electrodes. Their performance is evaluated with a computer controlled electrochemical workstation in combination with three conventional electrodes. The experimental results indicate that the surface modification of TiO 2 electrodes with sputtered NiO reduces trap sites on TiO 2 and improves the electrochemical performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Sputtering NiO for 7 min, which is about 21 nm thick, on 6.5 m thick TiO 2 greatly improves the DSSC parameters, and the conversion efficiency increases from 3.21 to 4.16%. Mechanisms of the influence of the NiO coating on electrochemical performance are discussed.