| Sensitized solar cells (SSCs) based on nanostructures including dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) have attracted great research interest due to their potential in converting sunlight into electricity and solving the energy problem. Metal oxide nanowires, as an important type of nanostructures were grown and applied in the SSCs. In this dissertation, two types of nanowires, ZnO and Zn2GeO4 nanowires were successfully grown onto fluorine-doped-tin-oxide (FTO) coated substrates using a chemical vapor deposition method. This method provides an important way to grow ZnO nanowires directly on FTO substrates without using any catalyst. ZnO nanowires with length of more than 30 mum were used as the photoanode for DSSCs. The dependence of solar cell performance on nanowire length and annealing temperature was studied. Zn2GeO4 nanowires were also directly synthesized on FTO substrates and were utilized as the photoanode in DSSCs and QDSSCs. Transient photocurrent and photovoltage decay measurements were conducted in the SSCs, which showed that the dye sensitization pH was important for DSSCs and that both the QDs coverage and band alignment between QDs and nanowires were key parameters for QDSSCs in order to have a good energy conversion efficiency. |
