Organic-inorganic hybrid dye-sensitized solar cells with Bismuth Ferrite sandwiched between rhodamine-6G and helical ZnO-dense nano-chains

Abstract To enhance the power conversion efficiency, organic-inorganic hybrid dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) were grown on a conducting glass substrate employing multiple layers of bismuth-ferrite (BFO) sandwiched between zinc oxide (ZnO) helical nano-chains and rhodamine-6G dye. The zinc oxide layer has been used as a window n-type semiconductor layer. To increase the carrier concentration, ZnO has been doped with aluminium. The bismuth ferrite layer worked as an electron-blocking layer, and rhodamine 6G was used as a dye synthesizer. With proper optimization of the BFO layer, solar cell efficiency increases from 0.7% to 1.3% when the window layer is pure ZnO. Aluminum doping in ZnO, combined with an identical BFO layer, increases efficiency from 1.37% to a maximum of 2.1% without employing any kind of electrolyte. Doping the Zn site with Al enhances the highest efficiency of such a DSSC structure by 1.53 times. BFO limits charge recombination, which leads to enhanced efficiency as an outcome. We performed a parametric study to determine the optimum BFO thickness for achieving higher solar cell efficiency. The main advantages of this optimal DSSC structure are that it is economical, efficient, and does not require any liquid electrolyte. The stability was higher because there was no use of liquid electrolytes.