Rare earth ion (La, Ce, and Eu) doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized via sol-gel method: Application in dye sensitized solar cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated by using ZnO nanoparticles as working electrode material synthesized via simple and cost effective sol-gel method. Crystallography and morphology was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. Among various rare earth ions, 1.0 mol % La, Ce, and Eu doped ZnO nanoparticles based photoanodes were used to test DSSC performance. Lower efficiency (η = 1.14%) for La ion doped ZnO nanoparticles based cell was observed. A much lower photocurrent J sc = 2.52 mA/cm2 with 0.60% efficiency (η) for the Ce ion doped ZnO nanoparticles based prototype was observed as compared to that (J sc = 3.86 mA/cm2 with η = 1.24%) of the undoped one which may be due to the formation of opposite internal electric potential difference in the cell. Furthermore, the improvement in efficiency (η = 1.36%) and J sc = 3.99 mA/cm2 for Eu ion doped ZnO can be attributed to enhanced electron injection and transport abilities. This indicates that 1.0 mol % Eu ion doped ZnO film possesses better electrical conductivity probably due to the existence of high-valance Eu ions in the ZnO matrix which might be promising in ZnO-based dye sensitized solar cell.