Application of ZnTiO3 in quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells and numerical simulations using first-principles theory

For the first time, ZnTiO3 applied as an innovative photoanode material in quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) has been systematically researched both theoretically and experimentally in this paper. The electron mobility (150-400 cm(2)/vs) of this material, achieved via the deformation potential theory, is much higher than that of most known photoanodes, including TiO2 and ZnO which have been heavily researched. The preparation of QDSSCs with the structure of ZnTiO3/CdS/CdSe yielded a high energy conversion efficiency of 1.95% and a large short-circuit current density of 5.96 mA/cm(2), which are also superior to the characteristics of other emerging photoanode materials, such as SnO2, Zn2SnO4, BaTiO3, and so on, indicating the good potential of this material for using in QDSSCs. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.