Genesis of flake-like morphology and dye-sensitized solar cell performance of Al-doped ZnO particles: a study
Source abstract
Abstract
In dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) application, the particulate morphologies of photo-anode facilitate efficient dye loading and thus lead to better photo-conversion efficiency than their thin film counterpart. However, till date, the electronic and optical properties as well as the DSSC application of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) particles as photo-anode material is studied less than thin films. Herein, phase formation behavior, morphology evolution, optical properties, and dye-sensitized solar cell performance of wet chemically prepared ZnO and AZO (dopant level: 1–4 mol%) particles are studied. It is found that Al doping modulates significantly the ZnO morphology which in turn results the maximum dye adsorption as well as best photo-conversion efficiency at optimum dopant concentration. Specifically, the nanoparticle of ZnO turns predominantly to flake-like morphology with a higher surface area when 2 mol% Al is doped. Such morphology modulation is expected, since the crystallinity, lattice parameters, and lattice strain of ZnO changes appreciably with Al doping. The variations of optical properties (absorbance, diffused reflectance, and band gap) of AZO materials as compared to primitive ZnO are also identified through UV-vis studies. An attempt is made here to correlate the structural features with the photovoltaic performances of ZnO and AZO.
Source: openaire · Quality: candidate unverified · Source record ↗
Research context
OpenAlex topics: ZnO doping and properties · TiO2 Photocatalysis and Solar Cells · Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
References (70)
Show source-provided references
1. Aeugle T, Bialas H, Heneka K, Pleyer W (1991) Large area piezoelectric ZnO film transducers produced by r.f. diode sputtering. Thin Solid Films 201:293–30410.1016/0040-6090(91)90118-H ↗
2. Akhtar MJ, Alhadlaq HA, Alshamsan A, Khan MAM, Ahamed M (2015) Aluminum doping tunes band gap energy level as well as oxidative stress-mediated cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticles in MCF-7 cells. Sci Rep 5:1387610.1038/srep13876 ↗
3. Alexander L, Klug HP (1950) Determination of crystallite size with the x-ray spectrometer. J Appl Phys 21:137–14210.1063/1.1699612 ↗
4. Anta JA, Guille E, Tena-Zaera R (2012) ZnO-based dye-sensitized solar cells. J Phys Chem C 116:11413–1142510.1021/jp3010025 ↗
5. Aydın C, Benhaliliba M, Al-Ghamdi AA, Gafer ZH, El-Tantawy F, Yakuphanoglu F (2013) Determination of optical band gap of ZnO:ZnAl2O4 composite semiconductor nanopowder materials by optical reflectance method. J Electroceram 31:265–27010.1007/s10832-013-9829-5 ↗
6. Bai S, Guo T, Zhao Y, Luo R, Li D, Chen A, Liu CC (2013) Mechanism enhancing gas sensing and first-principle calculations of Al-doped ZnO nanostructures. J Mater Chem A 1:11335–1134210.1039/c3ta11516j ↗
7. Chen KJ, Fang TH, Hung FY, Ji LW, Chang SJ, Young SJ, Hsiao YJ (2008) The crystallization and physical properties of Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles. Appl Surf Sci 254:5791–579510.1016/j.apsusc.2008.03.080 ↗
8. Choi Y, Gong JSC, Park CS, Lee HS, Jang JG, Chang HJ, Yeom GY, Park HH (2013) Improved performance of organic light-emitting diodes fabricated on Al-doped ZnO anodes incorporating a homogeneous Al-doped ZnO buffer layer grown by atomic layer deposition. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 5:3650–365510.1021/am400140c ↗
9. Damm H, Kelchtermans A, Bertha A, Van den Broeck F, Elen K, Martins JC, Carleer R, D'Haen J, Dobbelaere CD, Hadermann J, Hardy A, Van Bael MK (2013) Thermal decomposition synthesis of Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles: an in-depth study. RSC Adv 3:23745–2375410.1039/c3ra43328e ↗
10. Das D, Mondal P (2014) Photoluminescence phenomena prevailing in c-axis oriented intrinsic ZnO thin films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering. RSC Adv 4:35735–3574310.1039/C4RA06063F ↗
11. Das TK, Ilaiyaraja P, Mocherla PSV, Bhalerao GM, Sudakar C (2016a) Influence of surface disorder, oxygen defects and bandgap in TiO2 nanostructures on the photovoltaic properties of dye sensitized solar cells. Sol Energ Mat Sol Cells 144:194–20910.1016/j.solmat.2015.08.036 ↗
12. Das P, Mondal B, Mukherjee K (2016b) Hierarchical zinc oxide nano-tips and micro-rods: hydrothermal synthesis and improved chemi-resistive response towards ethanol. RSC Adv 6:1408–141410.1039/C5RA23203A ↗
13. Ding JJ, Chen HX, Ma SY (2010) Structural and photoluminescence properties of Al-doped ZnO films deposited on Si substrate. Phys E 42:1861–186410.1016/j.physe.2010.02.014 ↗
14. Fournier C, Bamiduro O, Mustafa H, Mundle R, Konda RB, Williams F, Pradhan AK (2008) Effects of substrate temperature on the optical and electrical properties of Al:ZnO films. Semicond Sci Technol 23:085019 (5pp)10.1088/0268-1242/23/8/085019 ↗
15. Fuchs P, Hagendorfer H, Romanyuk YE, Tiwari AN (2015) Doping strategies for highly conductive Al-doped ZnO films grown from aqueous solution. Phys Status Solidi A 212:51–5510.1002/pssa.201431145 ↗
16. Gibbs ZM, LaLonde A, Snyder GJ (2013) Optical band gap and the Burstein-Moss effect in iodine doped PbTe using diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. New J Phys 15:075020 (18pp)10.1088/1367-2630/15/7/075020 ↗
17. Giovannelli F, Ngo Ndimba A, Diaz-Chao P, Motelica-Heino M, Raynal PI, Autret C, Delorme F (2014) Synthesis of Al doped ZnO nanoparticles by aqueous coprecipitation. Powder Technol 262:203–20810.1016/j.powtec.2014.04.065 ↗
18. Huang SP, Xao Q, Zhou H, Wang D, Jiang WJ (2009) Hydrothermal synthesis and conductive properties of Al-doped ZnO rod-like whiskers. J Alloys Compd 486:L24–L2610.1016/j.jallcom.2009.07.033 ↗
19. Huang J, Yang Z, Feng Z, Xie X, Wen X (2016) A novel ZnO@Ag@Polypyrrole hybrid composite evaluated as anode material for zinc-based secondary cell. Sci Rep 6:2447110.1038/srep24471 ↗
20. Jiao Y, Zhu HJ, Wang XF, Shi L, Liu Y, Peng LM, Li Q (2010) A simple route to controllable growth of ZnO nanorod arrays on conducting substrates. CrystEngComm 12:940–94610.1039/B918323J ↗
21. Kadota M, Kando H (2003) Small and low-loss intermediate frequency surface acoustic wave filters using zinc oxide film on quartz substrate. Jpn J Appl Phys 42:3139–314210.1143/JJAP.42.3139 ↗
22. Kathalingam A, Rhee J-K, Han S-H (2014) Effects of graphene counter electrode and CdSe quantum dots in TiO2 and ZnO on dye-sensitized solar cell performance. Int J Energy Res 38:674–68210.1002/er.3179 ↗
23. Kaur G, Mitra A, Yadav KL (2015) Pulsed laser deposited Al-doped ZnO thin films for optical applications. Prog Nat Sci 25:12–2110.1016/j.pnsc.2015.01.012 ↗
24. Kelchtermans A, Elen K, Schellens K, Conings B, Damm H, Boyen HG, D'Haen J, Adriaensens P, Hardy A, Van Bael MK (2013) Relation between synthesis conditions, dopant position and charge carriers in aluminium-doped ZnO nanoparticles. RSC Adv 3:15254–1526210.1039/c3ra41847b ↗
25. Kim DK, Kim HB (2011) Room temperature deposition of Al-doped ZnO thin films on glass by RF magnetron sputtering under different Ar gas pressure. J Alloys Compd 509:421–42510.1016/j.jallcom.2010.09.047 ↗
26. Kim KH, Park KC, Ma DY (1997) Structural, electrical and optical properties of aluminum doped zinc oxide films prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. J Appl Phys 81:776410.1063/1.365556 ↗
27. Kim J, Yun JH, Park YC, Anderson WA (2012) Transparent and crystalline Al-doped ZnO film-embedded heterojunction Si solar cell. Mater Lett 75:99–10110.1016/j.matlet.2012.01.144 ↗
28. Lee DJ, Kim HM, Kwon JY, Choi H, Kim SH, Kim KB (2011) Structural and electrical properties of atomic layer deposited Al-doped ZnO films. Adv Funct Mater 21:448–45510.1002/adfm.201001342 ↗
29. Li J, Xu J, Xu Q, Fang G (2012a) Preparation and characterization of Al doped ZnO thin films by sol-gel process. J Alloys Compd 542:151–15610.1016/j.jallcom.2012.07.075 ↗
30. Li C, Lv J, Liang Z (2012b) Effects of Al doping on the optical and electrical properties of pre-synthesized ZnO powders by solid state method. J Mater Sci Mater Electron 23:1673–167710.1007/s10854-012-0645-5 ↗
31. Lim JH, Kang CK, Kim KK, Park IK, Hwang DK, Park SJ (2006) UV electroluminescence emission from ZnO light-emitting diodes grown by high-temperature radiofrequency sputtering. Adv Mater 18:2720–272410.1002/adma.200502633 ↗
32. Lin CY, Lai YH, Chen HW, Chen JG, Kung CW, Vittal R, Ho KC (2011) Highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cell with a ZnO nanosheet-based photoanode. Energy Environ Sci 4:3448–345510.1039/c0ee00587h ↗
33. Liu J, Lee S, Ahn YH, Park JY, Koh KH (2009) Tailoring the visible photoluminescence of mass-produced ZnO nanowires. J Phys D Appl Phys 42:095401 (6pp)10.1088/0022-3727/42/9/095401 ↗
34. Liu D, Lv Y, Zhang M, Liu Y, Zhu Y, Zong R, Zhu Y (2014) Defect-related photoluminescence and photocatalytic properties of porous ZnO nanosheets. J Mater Chem A 2:15377–1538810.1039/C4TA02678K ↗
35. Look DC, Reynolds DC, Sizelove JR, Jones RL, Litton CW, Cantwell G, Harsch WC (1998) Electrical properties of bulk ZnO. Solid State Commun 105:399–40110.1016/S0038-1098(97)10145-4 ↗
36. Lu JG, Ye ZZ, Zeng YJ, Zhu LP, Wang L, Yuan J, Zhao BH (2006) Structural, optical, and electrical properties of (Zn,Al)O films over a wide range of compositions. J Appl Phys 100:07371410.1063/1.2357638 ↗
37. Lu Z, Zhou J, Wang A, Wang N, Yang X (2011) Synthesis of aluminium-doped ZnO nanocrystals with controllable morphology and enhanced electrical conductivity. J Mater Chem 21:4161–416710.1039/c0jm03299a ↗
38. Luo L, Rossell MD, Xie D, Erni R, Niederberger M (2013) Microwave-assisted nonaqueous sol-gel synthesis: from Al:ZnO nanoparticles to transparent conducting films. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 1:152–16010.1021/sc300073d ↗
39. Magne C, Moehl T, Urien M, Gratzel M, Pauporte T (2013) Effects of ZnO film growth route and nanostructure on electron transport and recombination in dye-sensitized solar cells. J Mater Chem A 1:2079–278810.1039/C2TA00674J ↗
40. Mallika AN, Ramachandra Reddy A, Sowri Babu K, Venugopal Reddy K (2014) Synthesis and optical characterization of aluminum doped ZnO nanoparticles. Ceram Int 40:12171–1217710.1016/j.ceramint.2014.04.057 ↗
41. Manekkathodi A, Wu YJ, Chu LW, Gwo S, Chou LJ, Chen LJ (2013) Integrated optical waveguide and photodetector arrays based on comb-like ZnO structures. Nanoscale 5:12185–1219110.1039/c3nr03735e ↗
42. Martinson ABF, McGarrah JE, Parpia MOK, Hupp JT (2006) Dynamics of charge transport and recombination in ZnO nanorod array dye-sensitized solar cells. PhysChemChemPhys 8:4655–4659
43. Martinson ABF, Elam JW, Hupp JT, Pellin MJ (2007) ZnO nanotube based dye-sensitized solar cells. Nano Lett 7:2183–218710.1021/nl070160+ ↗
44. Nanto H, Sokooshi H, Kawai T (1993) Aluminum-doped ZnO thin film gas sensor capable of detecting freshness of sea foods. Sens Actuator B Chem 14:715–71710.1016/0925-4005(93)85156-5 ↗
45. Noriega R, Rivnay J, Goris L, Kälblein D, Klauk H, Kern K, Thompson LM, Palke AC, Stebbins JF, Jokisaari JR, Kusinski G, Salleo A (2010) Probing the electrical properties of highly-doped Al:ZnO nanowire ensembles. J Appl Phys 107:07431210.1063/1.3360930 ↗
46. Ong T, Xu L, van der Laan TA, Xu S, Ostrikov K (2011) Plasma-aided hydrogenation and Al-doping: increasing the conductivity and optical transparency of ZnO transparent conducting oxide. Appl Surf Sci 257:9986–999010.1016/j.apsusc.2011.06.121 ↗
47. Park S, Lee CW, Cho IS, Kim SJ, Park H, Kim HJ, Kim DW, Lee S, Hong KS (2014) Growth of anatase and rutile TiO2@Sb:SnO2 heterostructures and their application in photoelectrochemical water splitting. Int J Hydrogen Energ 39:17508–1751610.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.10.030 ↗
48. Pollock EB, Lad RJ (2014) Influence of dosing sequence and film thickness on structure and resistivity of Al-ZnO films grown by atomic layer deposition. J Vac Sci Technol A 32:04151610.1116/1.4885063 ↗
49. Prabhakar RR, Pramana SS, Karthik KRG, Sow CH, Jinesh KB (2012) Ultra-thin conformal deposition of CuInS2 on ZnO nanowires by chemical spray pyrolysis. J Mater Chem 22:13965–1396810.1039/c2jm31270k ↗
50. Punnoose A, Dodge K, Rassmussen J, Chess J, Wingett D, Anders C (2014) Cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticles can be tailored by modifying their surface structure: a green chemistry approach for safer nanomaterials. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 2:1666–167310.1021/sc500140x ↗
51. Rahman MM, Khan MKR, Islam MR, Halim MA, Shahjahan M, Hakim MA, Saha DK, Khan JU (2012) Effect of Al doping on structural, electrical, optical and photoluminescence properties of nano-structural ZnO thin films. J Mater Sci Technol 28:329–33510.1016/S1005-0302(12)60064-4 ↗
52. Ralib AAM, Nordin AN, Salleh H, Othman R (2012) Fabrication of aluminium doped zinc oxide piezoelectric thin film on a silicon substrate for piezoelectric MEMS energy harvesters. Microsys Technol 18:1761–176910.1007/s00542-012-1550-9 ↗
53. Sedky A, Sawalha AA, Yassin AM (2009) Enhancement of electrical conductivity by Al-doped ZnO ceramic varistors. Physica B 404:3519–352410.1016/j.physb.2009.05.054 ↗
54. Sengupta D, Das P, Kasinadhuni U, Mondal B, Mukherjee K (2014) Morphology induced light scattering by zinc oxide polydisperse particles: promising for dye sensitized solar cell application. J Renew Sustain Energ 6:06311410.1063/1.4904435 ↗
55. Sengupta D, Mondal B, Mukherjee K (2015) Visible light absorption and photo-sensitizing properties of spinach leaves and beetroot extracted natural dyes. Spectrochim Acta Mol Biomol Spectrosc 148:85–9210.1016/j.saa.2015.03.120 ↗
56. Serier H, Gaudon M, Menetrier M (2009) Al-doped ZnO powdered materials: Al solubility limit and IR absorption properties. Solid State Sci 11:1192–119710.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2009.03.007 ↗
57. Shi Y, Zhu C, Wang L, Li W, Cheng C, Ho KM, Fung KK, Wang N (2012) Optimizing nanosheet-based ZnO hierarchical structure through ultrasonic-assisted precipitation for remarkable photovoltaic enhancement in quasi-solid dye-sensitized solar cells. J Mater Chem 22:13097–1310310.1039/c2jm31106b ↗
58. Suryanarayana C, Norton MG (1998) X-ray diffraction: a practical approach. Plenum Press, New York10.1007/978-1-4899-0148-4 ↗
59. Tan WK, Lockman Z, Razak KA, Kawamura G, Muto H, Matsuda A (2013) Enhanced dye-sensitized solar cells performance of ZnO nanorod arrays grown by low-temperature hydrothermal reaction. Int J Energy Res 37:1992–2000
60. Tao R, Tomita T, Wong RA, Waki K (2012) Electrochemical and structural analysis of Al-doped ZnO nanorod arrays in dye-sensitized solar cells. J Power Sources 214:159–16510.1016/j.jpowsour.2012.04.071 ↗
61. Tian C, Zhang Q, Wu A, Jiang M, Liang Z, Jianga B, Fu H (2012) Cost-effective large-scale synthesis of ZnO photocatalyst with excellent performance for dye photodegradation. Chem Commun 48:2858–286010.1039/c2cc16434e ↗
62. Tiwana P, Docampo P, Johnston MB, Snaith HJ, Herz LM (2011) Electron mobility and injection dynamics in mesoporous ZnO, SnO2, and TiO2 films used in dye-sensitized solar cells. ACS Nano 5:5158–516610.1021/nn201243y ↗
63. Valenti I, Benedetti S, Di Bona A, Lollobrigida V, Perucchi A, Di Pietro P, Lupi S, Valeri S, Torelli P (2015) Electrical, optical, and electronic properties of Al:ZnO films in a wide doping range. J Appl Phys 118:16530410.1063/1.4934512 ↗
64. Wahab R, Kim YS, Shin HS (2009) Synthesis, characterization and effect of pH variation on zinc oxide nanostructures. Mater Trans 50:2092–209710.2320/matertrans.M2009099 ↗
65. Yang L, Xiang L (2013) Influence of the mixing ways of reactants on ZnO morphology. J Nanomater 6:28961610.1155/2013/289616 ↗
66. Zhang P, Hong RY, Chen Q, Feng WG, Badami D (2014a) Aluminum-doped zinc oxide powders: synthesis, properties and application. J Mater Sci Mater Electron 25:678–69210.1007/s10854-013-1630-3 ↗
67. Zhang P, Hong RY, Chen Q, Feng WG (2014b) On the electrical conductivity and photocatalytic activity of aluminum-doped zinc oxide. Powder Technol 253:360–36710.1016/j.powtec.2013.12.001 ↗
68. Zhao C, Zhang J, Hu Y, Robertson N, Hu PA, Child D, Gibson D, Fu YQ (2015a) In-situ microfluidic controlled, low temperature hydrothermal growth of nanoflakes for dye-sensitized solar cells. Sci Rep 5:1775010.1038/srep17750 ↗
69. Zhao JD, Chen RS, Wang H, Li J, Zhu Z (2015b) Self-sssembly of gridlike zinc oxide lamellae for chemical-sensing applications. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 7:5870–587810.1021/am509139f ↗
70. Zhou H, Wang H, Zheng K, Gu Z, Wu Z, Tian X (2014) Aluminum-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles with tunable near-infrared absorption/reflectance by a simple solvothermal process. RSC Adv 4:42758–4276310.1039/C4RA08196J ↗