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Saleem M, Irshad K, Ur Rehman S, Javed MS, Hasan MA, Ali HM, Ali A, Malik MZ, Islam S. Characteristics and Photovoltaic Applications of Au-Doped ZnO-Sm Nanoparticle Films. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 11:702. [PMID: 33799567 PMCID: PMC8001248 DOI: 10.3390/nano11030702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Au-doped ZnO-samarium nitrate (Sm) nanoparticles with fixed concentrations of Sm (1 wt %) and various concentrations of Au (0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 wt %) were prepared and used as photoelectrodes to enhance the photovoltaic efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The cell fabricated with 1.5 wt % of Au-doped ZnO-Sm nanoparticles film achieved an optimal efficiency of 4.35%, which is about 76% higher than that of 0.0 wt % of Au-doped ZnO-Sm-based cell (2.47%). This increase might be due to the formation of a blocking layer at the ZnO-Sm/Au interface, which inhibits the recombination of electrons. This increase may also be attributed to the addition of rare-earth ions in ZnO to enhance the non-absorbable wavelength region of light via up/down-conversion of near-infrared and ultraviolet radiations to visible emission and reduce the recombination loss of electron in the cell. The efficiency of cells may be increased by the blocking layer and up/down-conversion process and thus promote the overall performance of the cells. This work indicates that Au-doped ZnO-Sm nanoparticle films have the potential to increase the performance of DSSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Saleem
- Institute of Physics, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
| | - Kashif Irshad
- Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia; (K.I.); (A.A.)
| | - Saif Ur Rehman
- Department of Physics, COMSATS University Islamabad Lahore Campus, Lahore 54000, Pakistan;
| | - M. Sufyan Javed
- Department of Physics, COMSATS University Islamabad Lahore Campus, Lahore 54000, Pakistan;
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Mohd Abul Hasan
- Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia; (M.A.H.); (S.I.)
| | - Hafiz Muhammad Ali
- Mechanical Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dharan 31261, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Amjad Ali
- Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia; (K.I.); (A.A.)
| | | | - Saiful Islam
- Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia; (M.A.H.); (S.I.)
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