Synthesis of two-dimensional ZnO nanosheet-structures for the application in dye-sensitized solar cells

A large amount of nano-ZnO with a thin sheet-like morphology has been manufactured by a simple citric acid assisted hydrothermal route. The influences on the morphologies and structures of ZnO products for the introduction of citric acid in the reaction system have been investigated. A dye-sensitized solar cell assembled by the ZnO nanosheets as photoanode shows an efficiency of 1.82 % with a short-circuit current density of 7.48 mA cm(-2) which is over 1.5 times higher than the one without adding citric acid during the synthetic process. This result is mainly connected to the unique superiority of the two-dimensional sheet-like ZnO nanostructures for light scattering and dye loading.