BaTiO3-coated TiO2 working electrodes for use in dye-sensitised solar cells

D. Menzies, R. Cervini, Q. Dai, M. Lewis, N. Brack, Yi Bing Cheng, G. P. Simon, L. Spiccia

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Nanostructured TiO2 working electrodes were coated with thin films of BaTiO3 using the sol-gel technique. These core-shell electrodes were made and compared against the control samples (bare TiO2). The electrodes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and used in the construction of dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs). It was found that all the BaTiO3-coated samples resulted in an increase in the open circuit voltage (Voc) from 735mV to 818mV. However, the short circuit current (Jsc) was lower than the control samples with a decrease from 5.6mAcm-2 to 4.3mAcm-2. The combination of these changes resulted in a decrease in efficiency from 2.6% to 2.3%. However, when a 2.45GHz microwave heat treatment was used instead of the conventional heat treatment the efficiency rose back up to 2.5%. This increase was due to a further increase in the Voc up to 823mV but still a lower current.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)43-47
Number of pages5
JournalAustralasian Ceramic Society Journal
Volume41
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2005

Keywords

  • Barium titanate
  • Core-shell nanostructure
  • Dye-sensitised solar cells
  • Electrode post-treatment
  • TiO working electrodes

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