Article Title

ZnO hierarchical aggregates: Solvothermal synthesis and application in dye-sensitized solar cells

Authors

Jianxing Shi, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Yunxin Liu, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Qing Peng, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Yadong Li, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

Keywords

dye-sensitized solar cells, zinc oxide, hierarchical aggregate, solvothermal synthesis, light scattering

Abstract

ABSTRACT ZnO hierarchical aggregates have been successfully synthesized by solvothermal methods through reaction of zinc acetate and potassium hydroxide in methanol solution. The shapes of the aggregates were controlled by varying the ratio of Zn2+ and OH– ions in the reaction system, while the size can be tuned from 2 μm to 100 nm. Oriented attachment was found to be the main mechanism of the three-dimensional assembly of small ZnO nanocrystallites into large aggregates. The performance of these aggregates in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) indicated that hierarchical structured photoelectrodes can increase energy conversion efficiency of DSCs effectively when the sizes of aggregates match the wavelengths of visible light.

Graphical Abstract

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-013-0321-y

Publisher

Tsinghua University Press

Recommended Citation

Jianxing Shi,Yunxin Liu,Qing Peng,Yadong Li, ZnO hierarchical aggregates: Solvothermal synthesis and application in dye-sensitized solar cells. NanoRes.2013, 6(6): 441–448