Photovoltaic Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell by Modification of Photoanode With PbTiO3–ZnFe2O4/TiO2 Nanofibers

This study investigates the photovoltaic performance of the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by modification of the photoanode with PbTiO3–ZnFe2O4/TiO2 nanofibers to enhance the current density and photovoltaic conversion efficiency ([Formula Omitted]. PbTiO3–ZnFe2O4/TiO2 nanofibers are prepared by electrospinning and used as a 1-D nanostructured scattering layer. There are two methods to modify photoanodes. One is a mixture of PbTiO3–ZnFe2O4/TiO2 nanofibers into a TiO2 layer of photoanode. The other is to attach flake-like PbTiO3–ZnFe2O4/TiO2 nanofibers onto the TiO2 layer of the photoanode. The DSSCs with the two kinds of modified photoanodes are compared with the DSSC without modification. This result represents that the DSSC with the modified photoanode, in which flake-like PbTiO3–ZnFe2O4/TiO2 nanofibers are cemented onto the TiO2 layer, has the highest photovoltaic conversion efficiency ([Formula Omitted] of 5.87%, while the photovoltaic conversion efficiency ([Formula Omitted] of the DSSC without modification is only 4.17%. The improved DSSC photovoltaic performance can be attributed to two main factors: a large amount of N719 adsorbed on the large surface area of PbTiO3–ZnFe2O4/TiO2 nanofibers and a low charge recombination rate.