ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Titanium oxide decorated zinc oxide nanoparticles for dye-sensitized solar cell and heterojunction diode applications

P. Arul, B. Balraj, C. Siva, and C. Vivek

Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Kongunadu College of Engineering and Technology, Tiruchirappalli, India

E-mail: arul.eee@gmail.com

Received: 9 June 2023  Accepted: 11 August 2023

Abstract:

In this study, the performance of dye-sensitized photovoltaic cells and electron charge recombination properties of p-n heterojunction diodes were enhanced by incorporating TiO₂ into pristine ZnO nanoparticles. The ZnO nanomaterials were prepared using a green mediated technique, and the TiO2 deposition over ZnO nanoparticles was achieved through the sol–gel method. Structural analysis confirmed that the ZnO nanoparticles exhibited a hexagonal wurtzite structure, while the TiO₂ nanoparticles displayed a hexagonal structure. Morphological analysis revealed that the ZnO particles had a spherical shape, whereas TiO₂ particles formed clusters. The nanomaterials were further investigated to assess their functional, linear optical, and magnetic properties. For the p-n heterojunction analysis, n-type pure ZnO and ZnO/TiO₂ nanomaterials were coated onto a p-type silicon substrate. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of TiO₂ nanomaterials improved the coercivity and magnetization of the device. Moreover, the power conversion efficiency of the dye-sensitized solar cells significantly increased for the ZnO/TiO₂ photoanode, indicating a reduced charge recombination. The TiO₂ incorporated ZnO exhibited a higher efficiency (7.85%) compared to pristine ZnO (7.47%).

Keywords: Heterojunction diode; ZnO nanomaterials; Metal oxide; VSM, DSSCs

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-023-03036-3

Chemical Papers 77 (12) 7527–7537 (2023)