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Impedance analysis of charge transfer upon nickel doping in Tio2-based flexible dye-sensitized solar cell

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Abstract

Flexible dye-sensitized solar cells (FDSSCs) have promoted interest in plastic industries as they are lightweight, flexible, and mechanically robust to accelerate production and reduce cost. However, the plastic substrates have temperature limitations in producing the TiO2 photoanode and degrade the performance of FDSSC. The main reason for this degradation is the low charge transfer in the photoanode layer. Although there is plenty of research on low-temperature fabrication methods, they indirectly increase the operational cost. Therefore, a new approach is necessary for charge transfer improvement without affecting the temperature in a low-cost platform. In this study, we present a photoanode that improves the charge transfer by doping nickel (Ni) in the TiO2 layer. A low amount of Ni doping (15%) exhibited Rct >> Rt, indicating a high charge transport and low electron recombination rate (120.84 s−1). On the other hand, higher amount Ni doping (>> 45%) has Rct << Rt which deteriorates the performance of the cell by causing severe agglomeration issues, indicating a high electron recombination rate (369.75 s−1). Moreover, the high charge transfer in (TiO2)85-Ni15-based FDSSC facilitates the electron lifetime of the cell up to 8.28 ms. Therefore, an optimum doping of Ni in TiO2-based FDSSC is studied in this work.

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Acknowledgement

This work was fully supported by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (Project No. GUP-2018-097 and FRGS/1/2019/STG07/UKM/02/11) and Photonic Technology Laboratory, Department of Electrical, Electronics and Systems Engineering, UKM, for the facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical, Electronic and Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    H. Abdullah & Kang Jian Xian

  2. Institute of Sustainable Energy, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Savisha Mahalingam & Abreeza Manap

  3. Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre (AMTEC), Address School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

    Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman

  4. Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Malaysia

    Md Akhtaruzzaman

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  1. H. Abdullah
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Correspondence to H. Abdullah.

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Abdullah, H., Mahalingam, S., Xian, K.J. et al. Impedance analysis of charge transfer upon nickel doping in Tio2-based flexible dye-sensitized solar cell. Polym. Bull. 78, 5755–5768 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-020-03396-w

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