Rose bengal-sensitized ZrO photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cell.

The present work reports the first demonstration of zirconium oxide (ZrO) as a photoanode and rose bengal (RB) as a sensitizer. ZrO photoanode films were deposited on indium-doped tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrate by doctor blade technique. ZrO photoanodes were sensitized by rose bengal dye. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was applied to reveal the surface morphological changes for the RB-sensitized and unsensitized ZrO photoanodes. Using UV-vis spectrophotometer, optical absorption analyses were carried out for the RB-sensitized photoanodes. Platinum-coated ITO electrode was used as a counter electrode for electrons collection. The electron transfer at the interfaces was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The device fabricated using the photoanode with dye loading time of 24 h performed better, it showed the photocurrent density ( J ), open-circuit voltage ( V ), and fill factor ( FF) of about 0.01 mA/cm, 258 mV, and 34%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]