Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with Composite Photoanodes Incorporating Zinc Oxide Micro-Flower Structure

A novel process including electrodeposition at the low temperature of ca. 70 °C has been developed to prepare zinc oxide thin film with a micro-flower structure (MF-ZnO). Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using the resulting MF-ZnO-electrode show high performance attributable to its improved electron diffusion coefficient and length. The cell had 14.12 mA/cm2 of short-circuit current, 0.694 V open-circuit voltage, a 0.61 fill factor, and 6.0 % conversion efficiency.