Hydrothermal Synthesis of High Electron Mobility Zn-doped SnO₂ Nanoflowers as Photoanode Material for Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the potential of a new photoanode material Zn-doped SnO2 nanoflower for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells. The nanoflower structure is synthesized using a hydrothermal method and is shown to have electron mobility higher than that of the conventional titania photoanode. The overall power conversion efficiency for the Zn-doped SnO2 nanoflower dye-sensitized solar cell reaches 3.00% with a Voc of 0.78 V and increases to 6.78% after TiCl4 treatment. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurement showed that the Zn-doped SnO2 nanoflower film has a large intrinsic electron mobility that favors the fast charge transport. This work shows that Zn-doped SnO2 nanoflower material is a most interesting material and has good potential for application in solar cells.