Synthesis of highly-ordered hierarchical ZnO nanostructures and their application in dye-sensitized solar cells

In order to improve the performance of ZnO‐based solar cells, highly‐ordered hierarchical ZnO nanostructures were design and fabricated. The hierarchical nanostructures were grown on FTO (fluorine doped tin oxide, SnO2:F) glass substrates via a facile, low‐temperature, and low‐cost chemical route. The morphology and structure of the obtained products has been confirmed by field‐emission scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction measurements. The performance investigation of the prepared dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) demonstrates that the hierarchical ZnO nanostructure‐based solar cell shows a higher short‐circuit current density compared with the ZnO nanowire counterpart. The enhanced current density may be due to the fact that the surface area of the hierarchical nanostructures is increased. These results indicate that hierarchical ZnO nanostructures are more suitable for the application as photoelectrode of DSSCs. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)