Solid state dye-sensitized solar cell

In this final year project, a Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) thin film was deposited on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis deposition and its application as a compact layer material for solid state dye sensitized solar cell. From the dark current and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics, it was found that sprayed TiO2 thin film functioned not only as a window material but also a blocking layer which enhanced the diode behavior of a solar cell. The optimum film thickness of bl- TiO2 layer was investigated for the corresponding solar cell. The sharpness of the FTO grain edge was rounded off, and the grain size of the TiO2 nanoparticles formed in spray pyrolysis remained the same with increasing spray duration, as suggested by XRD. The EIS was done to emphasize on the necessity of the bl-TiO2 layer in this project. Besides, the TiCl4 treatment pre-treat and post-treat on blocking layer which was believed to make the bl-TiO2 layer become pinhole-free film was carried out. There was an improvement with TiCl4 treatment, with increasing open circuit voltage, fill factor and decreasing sheet resistance. Different dye (Z907, N719 and D102) has been studied, in which the D102 was efficient compared to other two due to its high adsorption coefficient over a wide spectral range. The modification on Spiro-OMeTAD layer – vacuum penetration was investigated to enhance the pore filling fraction in order to increase the fill factor. Besides, further work was recommended to improve the cell performance of SSDSSC.Bachelor of Engineering (Materials Engineering