Reducing recombination in ZnO photoanodes for dye sensitised solar cells through simple chemical synthesis

A method has been developed to synthesise zinc oxide nanowire arrays that demonstrate superior device performance compared to conventional ZnO nanowires within dye sensitised solar cells (DSSCs). This simple yet effective methodology has produced nanowires with triple device performance when compared to conventional ZnO nanowire DSSCs. We have fully characterised the morphology and physical properties of these wires and have demonstrated that the device improvements are due to a reduction in the recombination centres associated with the ZnO crystal.