Structural Changes of Electrodeposited ZnO Matrices for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells During Preparation

Nanoporous zinc oxide films can be prepared by electrochemical codeposition with the dye eosin Y (EY) as a template and its subsequent desorption with aqueous KOH. In this contribution; the partial dissolving and reorganization of the zinc oxide film during the desorption step was studied in detail using X-ray diffraction, Kelvin probe force microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. It was found that the reorganization leads to an enhancement of crystal orientation and a reduction of the oxygen defect concentration at the surface of the zinc oxide, which is supposed to be a reason for suppressed recombination of electrons in these films.