Optimizing nanosheet-based ZnO hierarchical structure through ultrasonic-assisted precipitation for remarkable photovoltaic enhancement in quasi-solid dye-sensitized solar cells

For ZnO hierarchical structures composed of interlaced nanosheets, it has been proved that they are more favorable for electron transportation in the photoanodes of ZnO-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). Here, we introduce ultrasonic-assisted precipitation for fabricating novel nanosheet-based ZnO hierarchical flowers (HFs) in aqueous solution. With the powerful ultrasound irradiation, these nanosheets on the HFs are not only interlaced and monocrystalline, but also axially oriented, porous and ultrathin. Furthermore, broad channels enclosed by adjacent nanosheets can deeply extend into the inner parts of the HFs. Structural improvements reveal that the specific area of the novel HFs as well as their performances on light-capturing and electron transport have been largely improved compared with those prepared through direct precipitation. Remarkably, when assembled into quasi-solid DSCs, ZnO HF photoanodes show a high conversion efficiency up to 6.19% (under AM 1.5, 100 mW cm(-2) illumination), the highest record of quasi-solid ZnO-based DSCs up to now.