Cactus-like nanothorn photoanodes for enhancing dye-sensitized solar cell efficiency
<p dir="ltr">The surface area for dye adsorption in the photoanode layer is critical in enhancing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). This study reports a novel cactus-like nanothorn structure constructed through the interfacial modification of...
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2025
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| Summary: | <p dir="ltr">The surface area for dye adsorption in the photoanode layer is critical in enhancing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). This study reports a novel cactus-like nanothorn structure constructed through the interfacial modification of rutile titanium dioxide nanoflowers (rTiO<sub>2</sub>-NF) by incorporating copper (II) oxide (Cu<sub>2</sub>O). The cactus-like nanothorn photoanode achieved a significantly higher PCE of 8.3% compared to the 2.9% of the unmodified nanoflower structure. This improvement was attributed to the increased short-circuit current (J<sub>SC</sub>), which was promoted by the enhanced dye adsorption surface area and lower charge transfer resistance (R<sub>ct</sub>, 2.888 Ω/cm<sup>2</sup>). A bandgap energy shift from 3.0 eV to 1.96 eV extended the light absorption from UV to the visible-light spectrum. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy confirmed the successful incorporation of a polycrystalline Cu<sub>2</sub>O layer. These results highlighted the potential of incorporating Cu<sub>2</sub>O to transform nanoflower photoanodes into cactus-like nanothorn structures to improve DSSC efficiency.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics<br>License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10854-025-15729-4" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10854-025-15729-4</a></p> |
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