Improved Efficiency of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Using Graphene-Coated Al₂O₃-TiO₂ Nanocomposite Photoanode

Abstract

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated using graphene-coated Al₂O₃ (GCA)-TiO₂ nanocomposite electrodes. The GCA-TiO₂ pastes were prepared by simply blending the GCA particles with TiO₂ particles without any complex treatments. The DSSC with 1 wt.% GCA-TiO₂ exhibited much better overall energy conversion efficiency, when compared to the DSSCs with TiO₂ alone and with carbon nanotube-TiO₂. It can be attributed to efficient electron transport through the GCA-TiO₂ to the transparent conducting oxide, resulting in significantly enhanced electron lifetime.

Keywords:

• Dye-sensitized solar cell
• electron lifetime
• electron transport
• graphene-coated Al₂O₃
• nanocomposite
• TiO₂

Acknowledgment

This research was supported by the Yeungnam University research grant (209-A-356-004) for the photoelectrochemical energy-conversion cells, and the Human Resources Development Program (R&D Workforce Cultivation Track for Solar Cell Materials and Processes) of Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) grant funded by the Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

Notes

K.-S. Ahn and H.-S. Kim contributed equally to this work as a corresponding author.