Surface Modification of the TiO₂ Light Scattering Layer for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs)

Abstract

A light scattering TiO₂ layer was investigated in dye-sensitized solar cells. To enhance the efficiency by light scattering layer in DSSCs, surfaces of the light scattering TiO₂ particles were modified by thin oxide layer such as Al₂O₃. The surface of the TiO₂ powder was coated with Al₂O₃ nanoparticles using simple methods, which was a kind of the modified sol-gel method. The Al₂O₃-coated TiO₂ powder was characterized by SEM and XRF. The overall conversion efficiency of the DSSCs with the Al₂O₃-coated TiO₂ light scattering layer increased from 5.07% to 6.46% compared to the DSSCs with the non-coated one.

Keywords:

• dye-sensitized solar cells
• TiO₂ light scattering layer
• modified sol-gel method

Acknowledgment

This research was financially supported by the Ministry of Education, Science Technology (MEST) and by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) through the Human Resource Training Project for Regional Innovation. This research was supported by the fund from Kyungpook National University Specialization Program, 2011.