ZnO hierarchical aggregates: Solvothermal synthesis and application in dye-sensitized solar cells
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ZnO hierarchical aggregates have been successfully synthesized by solvothermal methods through reaction of zinc acetate and potassium hydroxide in methanol solution. The shapes of the aggregates were controlled by varying the ratio of Zn2+ and OH– ions in the reaction system, while the size can be tuned from 2 μm to 100 nm. Oriented attachment was found to be the main mechanism of the three-dimensional assembly of small ZnO nanocrystallites into large aggregates. The performance of these aggregates in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) indicated that hierarchical structured photoelectrodes can increase energy conversion efficiency of DSCs effectively when the sizes of aggregates match the wavelengths of visible light.
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ZnO hierarchical aggregates: Solvothermal synthesis and application in dye-sensitized solar cells
Abstract
ZnO hierarchical aggregates have been successfully synthesized by solvothermal methods through reaction of zinc acetate and potassium hydroxide in methanol solution. The shapes of the aggregates were controlled by varying the ratio of Zn2+ and OH– ions in the reaction system, while the size can be tuned from 2 μm to 100 nm. Oriented attachment was found to be the main mechanism of the three-dimensional assembly of small ZnO nanocrystallites into large aggregates. The performance of these aggregates in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) indicated that hierarchical structured photoelectrodes can increase energy conversion efficiency of DSCs effectively when the sizes of aggregates match the wavelengths of visible light.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the State Key Project of Fundamental Research for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (Nos. 2011CB932401 and 2011CBA00500) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 21221062 and 21131004).
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