• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.194-199
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• 2016

We prepared polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) beads with a particle size of 80 nm to improve the energy conversion efficiency (ECE) by increasing the effective surface area and the dye absorption ability of the working electrodes (WEs) in a dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC). We prepared the $TiO_2$ layer with PMMA beads of 0.0~1.0 wt%; then, finally, a DSSC with $0.45cm^2$ active area was obtained. Optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy were used to characterize the microstructure of the $TiO_2$ layer with PMMA. UV-VIS-NIR was used to determine the optical absorbance of the WEs with PMMA. A solar simulator and a potentiostat were used to determine the photovoltaic properties of the PMMA-added DSSC. Analysis of the microstructure showed that pores of 200 nm were formed by the decomposition of PMMA. Also, root mean square values linearly increased as more PMMA was added. The absorbance in the visible light regime was found to increase as the degree of PMMA dispersion increased. The ECE increased from 4.91% to 5.35% when the amount of PMMA beads added was increased from 0.0 to 0.4 wt%. However, the ECE decreased when more than 0.6 wt% of PMMA was added. Thus, adding a proper amount of PMMA to the $TiO_2$ layer was determined to be an effective method for improving the ECE of a DSSC.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.57.2-57.2
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• 2011

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) have recently been developed as a cost-effective photovoltaic system due to their low-cost materials and facile processing. The production of DSSC involves chemical and thermal processes but no vacuum is involved. Therefore, DSSC can be fabricated without using expensive equipment. The use of dyes and nanocrystalline $TiO_2$ is one of the most promising approaches to realize both high performance and low cost. The efficiency of the DSSC changes consequently in the particle size, morphology, crystallization and surface state of the $TiO_2$. Nanocrystalline $TiO_2$ materials have been widely used as a photo catalyst and an electron collector in DSSC. Front electrode in DSSC are required to have an extremely high porosity and surface area such that the dyes can be sufficiently adsorbed and be electronically interconnected, resulting in the efficient generation of photocurrent within cells. In this study, DSSC were fabricated by an screen printing for the $TiO_2$ thin film. $TiO_2$ nanoparticles characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) and scanning auger microscopy (SAM) and zeta potential and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS).In addition, DSSC module was modeled and simulated using the SILVACO TCAD software program. Improve the efficiency of DSSC, the effect of $TiO_2$ thin film thickness and $TiO_2$ nanoparticle size was investigated by SILVACO TCAD software program.

• Applied Science and Convergence Technology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.289-292
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• 2015

The etching processes of glass in aqueous hydrofluoric acid (HF) solutions were used to improve the current density of solar cell. In this study, the textured glass substrate has been etched by solution and the $TiO_2$ thin films have been prepared on this textured glass. After the $TiO_2$ film deposition the surface has been etched by HF under different concentration and the etched $TiO_2$ thin films had a longer electron lifetime and higher haze ratio as well as light scattering, resulting in 1.7 times increment of dye-sensitized solar-cell(DSSC) efficiency. Increases in the surface root-mean-square roughness of glass substrates from 80 nm to 1774 nm enhanced haze ratio in above 300 nm wavelength. In particular, haze ratio of etched $TiO_2$ films on textured glass showed gradually increasing tendency at 550 nm wavelength by increasing of HF concentration up to 10M, suggesting a formation of crater with various sizes on its surface.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.538-542
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• 2019

Semiconductor oxides such as $TiO_2$ involved in light conversion efficiency are the main elements of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) and are used to mix different semiconductor oxides to improve efficiency. In this research, characteristics of the dye-sensitive solar cell are studied using semiconductor oxide formed by mixing $TiO_2$ and $Nb_2O_5$. A solar cell is manufactured by adding $Nb_2O_5$ at different ratios in order to analyze electrical characteristics of a mixed semiconductor oxide on light conversion efficiency. With the addition of $Nb_2O_5$, the conductivity was further enhanced than the recombination phenomenon caused by contact with electrolytes, confirming the improve of short-circuit, open voltage, and conversion efficiency of solar cells.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.878-881
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• 2013

In this study, we have fabricated the dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) composed by a transparent conductive oxide (TCO), a nanocrystalline semiconductor film usually $TiO_2$, a sensitizer adsorbed on the surface of the semiconductor, an electrolyte containing a redox mediator and a counter electrode. The $TiO_2$ nanopowder was prepared by sol-gel methode. The HCl (hydrochloric acid) and TBAOH (Tetrabutyl amonium hydroxide) was added for improving the catalyst and distributed properties of $TiO_2$ nanopowder. Ammonium hydroixde was added in order to control the morphology and size of $TiO_2$ nano crystal. A $TiO_2$ paste for working electrode was prepared with the addition of HPC (hydroxypropyl cellulos) used as a binder of which volume was controled as 1.3, 1.5, 1.7, and 2.0%. The measured I-V curves of assembled DSSC showed that the cell with 1.7% HPC binder had the best efficiency of 6.79%.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.423-423
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• 2012

Recently, many researchers made progress in various studies improving the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cell. In this paper, we used glass textured by wet-chemical etching process for improvement of photocurrent density in dye-sensitized solar cells. This is owing to increase coefficient of light utilization. Consequently, DSSC using the textured glass exhibit a Jsc of 9.49 mA/$cm^2$, a Voc of 0.73 V and a fill factor (FF) of 0.67 with an overall conversion efficiency of 4.64. This result showed increasing of 20% current density and 16% conversion efficiency using the textured glass. These results suggested that glass texturing was very effective in controlling the light-scattering properties into the photovoltaic cell.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.396-402
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• 2015

The organic binder-free paste for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has been investigated using peroxo titanium complex. The crystal structure of $TiO_2$ nanoparticles, morphology of $TiO_2$ film and electrical properties are analyzed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Electrochemical Impedance Spectra (EIS), and solar simulator. The synthesized $TiO_2$ nanopowders by the peroxo titanium complex at 150, 300, $400^{\circ}C$, and $450^{\circ}C$ have anatase phase and average crystal sizes are calculated to be 4.2, 13.7, 16.9, and 20.9 nm, respectively. The DSSC prepared by the peroxo titanium complex binder have higher $V_{oc}$ and lower $J_{sc}$ values than that of the organic binder. It can be attributed to improvement of sintering properties of $TCO/TiO_2$ and $TiO_2/TiO_2$ interface and to formation of agglomerate by the nanoparticles. As a result, we have investigated the organic binder-free paste and 3.178% conversion efficiency of the DSSC at $450^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Satellite, Information and Communications
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.107-109
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• 2014

Dye-sensitezed solar cell(DSSC) has aroused intense interest owing to its competitive price and stabilized properties than Si based solar cells. Recently, many studies have been reported on the DSSC, especially development of Pt-free counter electrode. In this paper, graphene is chosen counter electrode for low cost material and developed its properties. To estimate the properties of counter electrode, graphene and Pt thin films have been fabricated on FTO substrates respectively, than the films are tested AFM and J-V evaluation method. A graphene of 0.1 wt% has shown current density of 11.68 mA/cm2, maximum efficiency of 4.34% which is similar with that of Pt counter electrode. It confirmed that graphene could be good material for counter electrode if its synthesizing conditions were developed.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.117.2-117.2
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• 2011

Since Gratzel and co-workers developed a new type of solar cell based on the nanocrystalline TiO2 electrode, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have attracted considerable attention on account of their high solar energy-to-conversion efficiencies (11%), their easy manufacturing process with low cost production compared to conventional p-n junction solar cells. The mechanism of DSSC is based on the injection of electrons from the photoexcited dye into the conduction band of nanocrystalline TiO2. The oxidized dye is reduced by the hole injection process from either the hole counter or electrolyte. Thus, the electronic structures, such as HOMO, LUMO, and HOMO-LUMO gap, of dye molecule in DSSC are deeply related to the electron transfer by photoexcitation and redox potential. To date, high performance and good stability of DSSC based on Ru-dyes as a photosensitizer had been widely addressed in the literatures. DSSC with Ru-bipyridyl complexes (N3 and N719), and the black ruthenium dye have achieved power conversion efficiencies up to 11.2% and 10.4%, respectively. However, the Ru-dyes are facing the problem of manufacturing costs and environmental issues. In order to obtain even cheaper photosensitizers for DSSC, metal-free organic photosensitizers are strongly desired. Metal-free organic dyes offer superior molar extinction coefficients, low cost, and a diversity of molecular structures, compared to conventional Ru-dyes. Recently, novel photosensitizers such as coumarin, merocyanine, cyanine, indoline, hemicyanine, triphenylamine, dialkylaniline, bis(dimethylfluorenyl)-aminophenyl, phenothiazine, tetrahydroquinoline, and carbazole based dyes have achieved solar-to-electrical power conversion efficiencies up to 5-9%. On the other hand, organic dye molecules have large ${\pi}$-conjugated planner structures which would bring out strong molecular stacking in their solid-state and poor solubility in their media. It was well known that the molecular stacking of organic dyes could reduce the electron transfer pathway in opto-electronic devices, significantly. In this paper, we have studied on synthesis and characterization of dendritic organic dyes with different number of electron acceptor/anchoring moieties in the end of dendrimer. The photovoltaic performances and the incident photon-to-current (IPCE) of these dyes were measured to evaluate the effects of the dendritic strucuture on the open-circuit voltage and the short-circuit current.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.2083-2086
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• 2011