Novel Photoanode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with Enhanced Light-Harvesting and Electron-Collection Efficiency

A novel photoanode structure modified by porous flowerlike CeO2 microspheres as a scattering layer with a thin TiO2 film deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is prepared to achieve a significantly enhanced performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The light scattering capability of the photoanode with the porous CeO2 microsphere layer is considerably improved. The interconnection of particles and electrical contact between bilayer and conducting substrate is further enhanced by an ALD-deposited TiO2 film, which effectively reduces the electron recombination and facilitates electron transport and thus enhances the charge collection efficiency of DSSCs. As a result, the overall efficiency of the obtained TiO2-CeO2-based cells reaches 9.86%, which is 31% higher than that of the DSSCs with a conventional TiO2 photoanode.