Collection of Electrons in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Improved by Three Dimensional Fluorine Doped SnO₂ Transparent Electrodes

Abstract

The collection of injected electrons for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was improved by two studies of three dimensional fluorine doped SnO₂ transparent electrodes (3D FTO). One of the studies conducted here involved making textured glass substrates of silica sphere particles and low resistance FTO films. The other study involved a transparent 3D FTO electrode incorporated into the porous titania layer. In order to suppress back reactions between I₃^- ions and FTO, the FTO film surfaces in the DSSCs had to be covered with compact titania films prepared by using titanyl nitrate solutions. We confirmed the time constants for the recombination and collection of the injected electrons by using optical modulation techniques. It was found that these 3D configurations contributed to the improvement in the performance of the DSSCs.