Research Information System
Applied Physics A: Materials Science and Processing, vol.129, no.4, 2023 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
TiCl4 post-treatment promises to suppress recombination occurring at TiO2/dye/electrolyte interfaces for high-performance cost-effective dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). So far, however, TiCl4 post-treated working electrodes currently exhibit insufficient open-circuit voltage (VOC) associated with downward shift of conduction band edge (ECB), which essentially hinders the performance of the cells. Here, we offer Ga(NO3)3 as an alternative post-treatment material to overcome this issue. The Ga(NO3)3 solution is diluted in aqueous solution with a concentration of 100 mM. To compensate the VOC loss originated from TiCI4 post-treatment, Ga(NO3)3 post-treatment causing upward shift of ECB unveils a promising potential. A larger recombination resistance at TiO2/dye/electrolyte interfaces is obtained with application of Ga(NO3)3, guiding that the Ga(NO3)3 post-treatment suppresses electron recombination as well. Thus, the device including TiCl4 & Ga(NO3)3 post-treated electrode outperforms that of TiCI4 post-treated electrode. Compared to bare electrode, the TiCl4 & Ga(NO3)3 post-treated electrode displays an enhanced power conversion efficiency (6.41%) of around 47%. The results suggest a promising path for an efficient DSSC.