Influence of Hydrothermal Temperature Variation and Annealing on ZnO Nanoparticles on the Performance of Photoanode in DSSC

Gabriel Kwame Sipi Takyi, Emmanuel Nyankson, Maxwell Selasse Akple, Abu Yaya, Gamaralalege Rajanya Asoka Kumara, Boateng Onwona-Agyeman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The hydrothermal synthesis method was used to synthesize ZnO nanoparticles at varying temperatures, and the resulting samples were then annealed in air at 500°C. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and thermogravimetry analysis/differential scanning calorimetry (TGA/DSC) were used to analyze the samples that had been synthesized. With a dominating diffraction peak of (002) at the maximum hydrothermal temperature of 120°C and the annealing temperature of 500°C for 30 minutes, the XRD data show the development of hexagonal wurtzite phases. The EDX results showed the presence of elemental zinc and oxygen, whereas the SEM revealed almost spherical particles with improved agglomeration. For the sample synthesized at 120°C and annealed at 500°C, FTIR examination shows that volatile organic compounds have been removed from the sample. The light-to-electric energy conversion efficiency was recorded to be 1.4 % for ruthenium-based complex (N719) dye and 1% for metal-free indoline (D149) dye under AM 1.5 irradiation (1000 Wm-2 simulated sunlight) when the ZnO nanoparticles prepared at 120°C was combined with colloidal tin oxide to form a composite-photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells.

Original languageEnglish
Article number75
JournalBiointerface Research in Applied Chemistry
Volume14
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jun 2024

Keywords

  • DSSC
  • SEM
  • annealing
  • hydrothermal
  • solar cell
  • zinc oxide

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Influence of Hydrothermal Temperature Variation and Annealing on ZnO Nanoparticles on the Performance of Photoanode in DSSC'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this