A Relative Investigation of the independent effects of Al-plasmonization and growth procedure on TiO2/ZnO Photoanodes

Abstract Nanoscience and nanotechnology open the door for creation of various nanostructured materials for application in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs). The aim of the present work is to investigate the as-synthesized TiO 2 /ZnO and TiO 2 /ZnO encapsulated Al Thin film by doctor blade and spin coating methods and the samples hereby designated as TZ and TAZ and the methods as DB and SC. A detailed investigation into the microstructure, morphology, composition, surface area and optical studies of the as-synthesized samples has been carried out. XRD analysis suggested that the crystallite size of TAZ decreases in comparison with the TZ in both DB and SC. The HRSEM and TEM reports reveal the spherical morphology and reduction in particle size in TAZ which is in good agreement with the XRD results. EDAX analysis confirms the presence of elemental composition of the as-synthesized sample. The presence of the functional groups of the as-synthesized samples was affirmed from FT-IR studies. From the UV-DRS studies a slight modification in band gap was observed possibly due to the lattice disorder arises due to the addition of plasmonic nanoparticles Al. BET analysis confirmed that TAZ shows a significant increase in surface area which would increase the dye absorption, a key factor for enhancing the performance of the DSSCs. Electro-optical studies of TAZ thin film indicated an enhanced photoconductive behavior in the case of hence presenting it as a promising photo anode material for DSSCs