Experimental investigation of hydrogen insertion in copper oxide on photovoltaic performance of <i>p</i>‐type dye‐sensitized solar cell
Melinda Vajda, Daniel Ursu, Cristina Moşoarcă, Narcis Duţeanu, Marinela Miclau
Abstract
Summary Hydrogenation of photoanodes has proved to be an effective method to improve performance of n ‐type dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Based on unfavorable assumptions given by the theoretical simulations, no hydrogenation of photocathodes and its effect on the conversion efficiency of in p ‐type DSSCs are reported. While the theoretical works have addressed the study of the electronic structure of hydrogenated Cu 2 O, our experimental work aims to highlight the features of hydrogenated Cu 2 O/dye interface which are critical in DSSC and still unexplored. We report the beneficial effect of hydrogen in Cu 2 O on anchoring of the dye leading to an improvement by 98% for J SC and thus, improving the solar energy conversion efficiency of p‐ type DSSC. Even in 2% H 2 atmosphere, the significant increase in J SC had demonstrated the suitability of hydrogenation in the case of p ‐type semiconductors as an effective and low‐cost way to augment the efficiency of p ‐DSSCs.