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Influence of Fe2O3 in ZnO/GO-based dye-sensitized solar cell

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Abstract

This work aims to study the influence of Fe2O3 in ZnO/GO-based DSSC incorporating PAN-based gel electrolyte. ZnO–Fe2O3/GO thin films and gel electrolyte were prepared using the sol–gel technique via spin-coating and polymerization of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) methods, respectively. The insertion of Fe2O3 in ZnO/GO improved the open-circuit voltage and fill factor significantly. However, large amount of Fe2O3 (0.3%) inhibited the electron transport with high electron recombination rate (keff = 3044.62 s−1). The main reason for the low efficiency in ZnO–Fe2O3(0.3%)/GO is due to the energy band misalignment with the failure of the excited electron from the LUMO of dye into the conduction band of ZnO–Fe2O3(0.3%)/GO. The study found that the optimum concentration of Fe2O3 is 0.2% for an efficient DSSC. ZnO–Fe2O3(0.2%)/GO-based DSSC exhibited slow electron recombination of 0.751 s−1. Moreover, the fine nanoparticles of ZnO–Fe2O3(0.2%)/GO observed through field emission electron microscopy show a more porous structure that improved the short-circuit current density in DSSC.

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Acknowledgements

This work was fully supported by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (Project No. FRGS/1/2019/STG07/UKM/02/11 and GUP-2018-097) and Photonic Technology Laboratory, Department of Electrical, Electronics and Systems Engineering, UKM for the facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical, Electronic and Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Huda Abdullah & Nur Aisyah Abu Bakar

  2. Institute of Sustainable Energy, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Savisha Mahalingam & Abreeza Manap

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Abreeza Manap

  4. Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre (AMTEC), Address School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM Johor Bahru, 81310, Johor, Malaysia

    Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman

  5. Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Md Akhtaruzzaman

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  1. Huda Abdullah
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  2. Savisha Mahalingam
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  4. Abreeza Manap
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Correspondence to Huda Abdullah.

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Abdullah, H., Mahalingam, S., Abu Bakar, N.A. et al. Influence of Fe2O3 in ZnO/GO-based dye-sensitized solar cell. Polym. Bull. 79, 4287–4301 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-021-03708-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-021-03708-8

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