THE EFFECT OF ZnO/NiO NANOCOMPOSITE ON THE PROPERTIES OF A PHOTOELECTRODE OF A DYE SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL

Abstract

The aim of the article was to investigate the structure and optical and properties of the ZnO/NiO nanoparticle layer with a different percentage of individual components produced by the sol-gel method. The influence of the developed layers on the properties of dye sensitized solar cells was also determined. Phase identification of the ZnO and NiO samples was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and TEM analysis. From the synthesized nanoparticles, a ZnO/NiO layer was prepared by screen printing method. Studies of the surface morphology of this layer from as prepared nanoparticles, deposited on an FTO glass substrate, was performed by using scanning electron microscopy. Current-voltage characteristics of dye-sensitized solar cells with ZnO/NiO layer and platinum counter electrodes were performed using PV Test Solutions Tadeusz Żdanowicz Solar Cell I-V Tracer System with solar simulator and Keithley 2400 source meter. The best results were obtained for a solar cell containing a ZnO/NiO nanocomposite with 70/30 ratio and its efficiency was 4.46%.