The influence of TiO2 film thickness in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC) performance based on TiO2/Ag@TiO2-ZnO

Abstract The effects of TiO2 film thickness in double layer TiO2/Ag@TiO2-ZnO as the photo-anode, on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells have been investigated. Dye adsorption and band gap of the electrode are paramount importance to enhance the efficiency. With the increase of TiO2 film, thickness is expected to increase dye adsorption while silver (Ag) doping in semiconductor electrode is proposed to reduce the band gap. Experimentally, TiO2 nanoparticle was deposited on ITO glass by a spin coating method as a first layer with varying number of spin coating to obtain different of thickness. Ag@TiO2-ZnO was deposited above the first layer by the doctor blade method. The sample was characterized by using X-Ray Diffraction, SEM cross-sectional, UV-vis spectroscopy, and solar simulator. It is found that the increases TiO2 film thickness in double layer TiO2/Ag@TiO2-ZnO electrode increase the efficiency linearly. The optimum efficiency of 0.31747% was obtained in a double layer DSSC with TiO2 film thickness of 42.54 μm.