Preparation of Photoactive Transition-Metal Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH) to Replace Dye-Sensitized Materials in Solar Cells

Sajid Naseem; Bianca R Gevers; Frederick J W J Labuschagné; Andreas Leuteritz

doi:10.3390/ma13194384

Preparation of Photoactive Transition-Metal Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH) to Replace Dye-Sensitized Materials in Solar Cells

Materials (Basel). 2020 Oct 1;13(19):4384. doi: 10.3390/ma13194384.

Authors

Sajid Naseem^{1

2}, Bianca R Gevers³, Frederick J W J Labuschagné³, Andreas Leuteritz¹

Affiliations

¹ Processing Department, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
² Institute of Materials Science, Technical University (TU) Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Applied Materials, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.

Abstract

This work highlights the use of Fe-modified MgAl-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) to replace dye and semiconductor complexes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), forming a layered double hydroxide solar cell (LDHSC). For this purpose, a MgAl-LDH and a Fe-modified MgAl LDH were prepared. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were used to analyze the structural properties, morphology, and success of the Fe-modification of the synthesized LDHs. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectroscopy was used to analyze the photoactive behavior of these LDHs and compare it to that of TiO₂ and dye-sensitized TiO₂. Current-voltage (I-V) solar simulation was used to determine the fill factor (FF), open circuit voltage (V_OC), short circuit current (I_SC), and efficiency of the LDHSCs. It was shown that the MgFeAl-LDH can act as a simultaneous photoabsorber and charge separator, effectively replacing the dye and semiconductor complex in DSSCs and yielding an efficiency of 1.56%.

Keywords: UV-Vis absorption; dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC); iron (Fe) modified MgFeAl LDH; layered double hydroxide solar cell (LDHSC); optical bandgap analysis; photoactive layered double hydroxide (LDH); photoactive material; photovoltaic device design; renewable energy; transition metal modification.