Nanostructured ZnO electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cell applications

Dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical solar cells constitute a promising candidate in the search for cost-effective and environment-friendly solar cells. The most extensively studied, and to date the most efficient systems are based on titanium dioxide. In this paper, the possibilities to use nanostructured ZnO electrodes in photoelectrochemical solar cells are investigated. Various experimental techniques (e.g. infrared, photoelectron, femtosecond and nanosecond laser spectroscopies, laser flash induced photocurrent transient measurements, two and three-electrode photoelectrochemical measurements) show that the thermodynamics, kinetics and charge transport properties are comparable for ZnO and TiO2. The preparation techniques of ZnO provide more possibilities of varying the particle size and shape compared to TiO2. However, the dye-sensitization process is more complex in case of ZnO and care needs to be taken to achieve an optimal performance of the solar cell. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.