Functionalization of SnO₂ Photoanode through Mg-Doping and TiO₂-Coating to Synergically Boost Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Performance

Mg-doped SnO₂ with an ultrathin TiO₂ coating layer was successfully synthesized through a facile nanoengineering art. Mg-doping and TiO₂-coating constructed functionally multi-interfaced SnO₂ photoanode for blocking charge recombination and enhancing charge transfer in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC). The designed nanostructure might play a synergistic effect on the reducing recombination and prolonging the lifetime in DSC device. Consequently, a maximum power conversion efficiency of 4.15% was obtained for solar cells fabricated with the SnO₂-based photoelectrode, exhibiting beyond 5-fold improvement in comparison with pure SnO₂ nanomterials photoelectrode DSC (0.85%).