A comparative study of Be and Mg ions adsorbed on TiO2 photoelectrodes on interfacial charge recombination in solar cells

Abstract Be 2+ and Mg 2+ ions were adsorbed on a TiO 2 surface, and the resulting photoelectrodes were applied in dye-sensitized solar cells. Be 2+ modification led to an increase in electron collection, electron injection, and dye regeneration efficiency, thereby increasing the short-circuit current. It was also found that the enhancements in both open-circuit voltage and fill factor of the device with Be 2+ -modified TiO 2 were due to the reduced charge recombination between the photoinjected electrons and I 3 − . Be 2+ modification resulted in an approximately 14% improvement in power conversion efficiency, whereas charge recombination was barely reduced in the case of Mg 2+ modification.