Effect of Organic Dye on the Photovoltaic Performance of Dye-Sensitized ZnO Solar Cell

Abstract

This work investigated the influence of the organic dyes Orange IV and Eosin Y as photosensitizers on the photovoltaic parameters of ZnO photoelectrode dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). ZnO was prepared by homemade ZnO nanoparticles. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and BET measurements were used to characterize the structures and the morphology of ZnO nanostructures. The Orange IV demonstrated the best performance compared with the cell sensitized with the Eosin Y. This occurred as Orange IV demonstrated the highest molar extinction coefficient.