Ecofriendly sol-gel-derived dye-sensitized solar cells with aluminium-doped tin oxide photoanode

The manuscript reports the fabrication of an eco-friendly sol gel dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) based on aluminium (Al)-doped tin oxide nanoparticles with different concentrations (0.5, 1, and 5 mol%) of Al providing enhanced optical and electrical properties than its bare counterparts. The physical, chemical, optical, and electrical properties of the as-synthesized nanoparticles were studied using different analytical tools. X-ray diffraction (XRD) study reveals the crystal structure of the prepared samples ascribed to SnO₂ nanoparticles uniformly with reduced crystallite size for Al-doped SnO₂ nanoparticles. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) analysis reveals narrowing of particle size on doping with the Al, substantially enhancing the optical and surface characteristic features of the SnO₂ nanoparticles. Photoconductivity studies indicate that all the samples have a good linear response with the increment of electric field in dark and photocurrent attributing to better photoconversion capability of the samples. Further, the optimized Al-doped SnO₂ and bare SnO₂ nanoparticles were subjected to sophisticated analytical studies such as high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for the better insight into their properties. The as-prepared Al-doped SnO₂ nanoparticles in the present study record good optical, surface, and electrical properties which enhance their compatibility for possible photovoltaic applications especially in dye-sensitized solar cells as an environmentally safe alternate energy solution. Further, the current density-voltage (J-V) characteristics of the optimized Al-SnO₂ and bare SnO₂ photoanode component were probed for their suitability in DSSCs which disclosed enriched efficiency upon doping with aluminium nanoparticles.