Enhancing the Efficiency of ZnO Nanorod-Based Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) Through Silver (Ag) Doping via Hydrothermal Processing

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Herlin Pujiarti, Dea Agnestasya Kurnia, Nashikudin, Chusnana Injaf Yogihati, Norazlin Binti Zainal

2025 ChemistrySelect Vol. 10 Issue 34 Article Cited by 0 Quartile

Abstract

DSSC (dye-sensitized solar cells) is a third-generation photovoltaic device that can convert sunlight into electrical energy by utilizing dyes as active photon-absorbing materials. In this study, ZnO nanorods-based DSSCs with Ag doping were fabricated. ZnO nanorods were grown by the hydrothermal method with an Ag doping variation of 0–0.03 M. Based on the XRD results, it is known that the addition of doping causes a shift in the ZnO diffraction peak to a smaller angle. SEM test results showed that the addition of Ag doping reduced the diameter size and increased the area of ZnO nanorods. In addition, the addition of Ag also results in a decrease in the energy gap from 3.30 to 3.05 eV. There is a significant increase in efficiency in the AZ1 sample of 1.46%, which is better than ZnO nanorods without doping with 0.5% efficiency. Based on the EIS test results, the increase in efficiency is due to a decrease in Rct resistance (2.68 Ω) and an increase in electron lifetime (16 ms). © 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

Affiliations

Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, State University of Malang, Jl. Semarang No. 5, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Center of Advanced Materials and Renewable Energy, State University of Malang, Jl. Semarang No. 5, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, State University of Malang, Jl. Semarang No. 5, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Center for Ionics Universiti Malaya, Department of Physics, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia