Aminosilicate modified zinc oxide Nanorod-GO nanocomposite for DSSC photoanodes

Amine-functionalized ZnO nanorods@graphene oxide (ZnO-NR/NH2/GO) nanocomposites prepared by a facile solution route have been investigated through X-ray diffraction, diffuse reflectance spectra, Raman spectra, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The amine-functionalized ZnO-NR/NH2/GO-2 nanocomposite exhibits very strong visible light absorption. Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) made of ZnO-NR/NH2/GO-2 nanocomposite (with optimum 2 wt % GO) photoanode delivers a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.76% which is much higher than the efficiency of unmodified ZnO-NR/GO photoanodes based DSSC (2.27%). The enhancement of PCE is primarily caused by the increased current density, attributed to the incorporation of aminosilicate and GO on the surface of ZnO-NRs which facilitates rapid transfer of electron from conduction band of ZnO to conducting surface of FTO. This diminished recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes improve the electron transfer at the photoanode/electrolyte interfaces.

Automated summary

This study investigates the amine-functionalized ZnO-NR/NH2/GO nanocomposites prepared by a solution route and their optical and electrical properties. The results show that the amine-functionalized ZnO-NR/NH2/GO-2 nanocomposite exhibits strong visible light absorption and achieves a high power conversion efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells. The enhancement is primarily attributed to the incorporation of aminosilicate and GO on the surface of ZnO-NRs, which facilitates rapid electron transfer.