Introduction of CaCO3 as Electron Recombination Barrier Layer in TiO2-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell
الموضوعات : Journal of Environmental Friendly Materials
M Yazdanipanah
1
,
M. R Mohammadi
2
1 - Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
2 - Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
الکلمات المفتاحية: DSSC, Surface Modification, Recombination Barrier Layer, Calcium Carbonate,
ملخص المقالة :
Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is an effective material for surface modification in TiO2-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Its higher conduction band position compared to TiO2 helps reduce electron recombination rates, and its elevated isoelectric point promotes increased dye adsorption. It is crucial to control the thickness of the CaCO3 layer to less than 3-10 nm, as tunneling phenomena cannot occur when the insulating layer exceeds 10 nm in thickness. In this study, the CaCO3 layer was deposited using the spin-coating method. Additionally, in two samples, the second TiCl4 treatment was omitted during DSSC preparation to assess its impact on the photovoltaic properties. The results indicate that while the deposition of CaCO3 enhances the photocurrent of the DSSCs, it simultaneously reduces the fill factor. However, applying the TiCl4 treatment both before and after CaCO3 deposition improves the fill factor, leading to greater efficiency compared to the untreated samples. Specifically, sample TT3CT achieved an efficiency of 7.98%, while the neat sample reached 7.58% efficiency
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