Environmentally benign synthesis of TiO₂-ZnO nanocomposite for efficient dye-sensitized solar cell

Abstract This work presents betanin dye-loaded TiO₂-ZnO thin film solar cells for solar energy harvesting. The TiO₂-ZnO nanocomposite was prepared by the one-step microwave-assisted technique. Structural studies exhibit mixed phases of rutile and wurtzite structure of TiO₂ and ZnO respectively. The morphological investigations of deposited TiO₂-ZnO nanocomposite showed interconnected many-fold nanoflakes morphology. EDS confirms the formation of stoichiometric TiO₂-ZnO nanocomposite films. An optical study demonstrates electronic transition with a bandgap energy range of 2.72 to 2.94 eV. Photovoltaic performance shows photocurrent from 1.62 to 2.73 mA cm^–2 with the photovoltage of 659–795 mV in the range with a 3.25% photo-conversion efficiency for the sample of TZO3 dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSCs).