Enhancing the performance of dye-sensitized solar cell using nano-sized erbium oxide on titanium oxide photoanode by impregnation route

S.H.A. Ahmad; Amir Al-Ahmed; Abbas Saeed Hakeem; Thamraa Alshahrani; Q. Mahmood; Umer Mehmood; H.A. Qayyum; Muhammad Younas; Muhammad Illyas; H. Dafalla; Rahila Jawaid; A. Laref; Anya Josefa Yago

Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology (Sep 2021)

Enhancing the performance of dye-sensitized solar cell using nano-sized erbium oxide on titanium oxide photoanode by impregnation route

S.H.A. Ahmad,
Amir Al-Ahmed,
Abbas Saeed Hakeem,
Thamraa Alshahrani,
Q. Mahmood,
Umer Mehmood,
H.A. Qayyum,
Muhammad Younas,
Muhammad Illyas,
H. Dafalla,
Rahila Jawaid,
A. Laref,
Anya Josefa Yago

Affiliations

S.H.A. Ahmad: School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia; Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy (CORERE), Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding author at: School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
Amir Al-Ahmed: Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy (CORERE), Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Abbas Saeed Hakeem: Center of Research Excellence in Nanotechnology (CENT), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Thamraa Alshahrani: Department of Physics, College of Science, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, 11671 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Q. Mahmood: Department of Physics, college of science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia
Umer Mehmood: Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy (CORERE), Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia; Polymer and Process Engineering Department, University of engineering and technology Lahore, Pakistan
H.A. Qayyum: Department of Physics, College of General studies, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia; Interdisciplinary Research Center for Hydrogen Energy and Storage, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Muhammad Younas: Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Muhammad Illyas: Center for Environment and Water, Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
H. Dafalla: Centre for Engineering Research, Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Rahila Jawaid: Department of Biosciences, University of Wah, Wah, Pakistan
A. Laref: Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451 King Saudi Arabia
Anya Josefa Yago: Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 7
p. 100047

Abstract

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Modification of conventional photoanode with oxide nanoparticles is a practical tactic to improve the performance of electrochemical devices. In this study, erbium oxide (Er2O3) nanoparticles were mixed with the TiO2 paste and photovoltaic performance of the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) was investigated. The highest power conversion efficiency of 6.39% was reached with the 1 wt.% of Er2O3 in photoanode, while in the similar condition the device with the pure TiO2 photoanode achieved the power conversion efficiency of 3.54%. This improvement in the power conversion efficiency was attributed to declining in charge recombination, improved open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current due to the presence of the critical amount of Er2O3. XPS analysis confirms the structural coherence between the Er2O3 and TiO2, which enhanced the optical performance of the composite photoanode. Composite photoanodes were further characterized by FESEM-EDX, XRD, and AFM for structural and morphological studies.

Published in Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology

ISSN: 2666-4690 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-photochemistry-and-photobiology

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