Photovoltaic Properties of Aluminum Doped Zinc Oxide Electrodes Based on Variation of Aluminum Impurities in the Semiconductor

M. D. Tyona^1, , R. U. Osuji², C. D. Lokhande³ and F. I. Ezema²

¹Department of Physics, Benue State University, P.M.B. 102119, Makurdi, Nigeria

²Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nigeria, P.O. Box 2201, Nsukka, Nigeria

³Department of Physics, D Y Patil University, Kolhapur, (M S) India

Cite this paper:
M. D. Tyona, R. U. Osuji, C. D. Lokhande and F. I. Ezema. Photovoltaic Properties of Aluminum Doped Zinc Oxide Electrodes Based on Variation of Aluminum Impurities in the Semiconductor. Journal of Materials Physics and Chemistry. 2018; 6(1):9-16. doi: 10.12691/jmpc-6-1-2

Abstract

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) solar cell studies of Al doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin film electrodes has been carried out by photocurrent-voltage (I-V) characteristic. The concentration of Al in ZnO was varied between 1-5 at.% in order to study the effect of the variation on the photovoltaic performance of the electrodes. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics measured in the dark and under 80 W simulated illumination revealed enhanced PV performance for the AZO electrodes in contrast to the undoped electrode. The best response was achieved for AZO electrode with 2 at.% Al concentration thus, recording higher conversion efficiency and fill factor. This is a clear indication that AZO electrodes are superior to undoped ZnO in PV applications. The remarkable enhanced properties of Al doping on ZnO were carefully studied by means of thickness measurement, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and UV-Vis spectroscopy, and the results were in good agreement, and confirmed that AZO thin film electrodes are better for PV applications than undoped ZnO semiconductor in sodium sulphate (Na₂SO₄) electrolyte.

Keywords:
AZO electrode Photoelectrochemical Al concentration chemical bath deposition X-ray diffraction film thickness

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	Kim, K. H., Utashiro, K., Abe, Y., Kawamura, M., “Structural properties of zinc oxide nanorods grown on Al-doped zinc oxide seed layer and their applications in dye-sensitized solar cells”, Mater., 7, 2522-2533, 2014.
[2]	El Manouni, A., Manjón, F.J., Mollar, M., Marí, B., Gómez, R., López, M.C., Ramos-Barrado J.R., “Effect of aluminium doping on zinc oxide thin films grown by spray pyrolysis”, Superlattices Microstruct., 39, 185-192, 2006.
[3]	Hsu, C. H. and Chen, D. H., “CdS nanoparticles sensitization of Al-doped ZnO nanorod array thin film with hydrogen treatment as an ITO/FTO-free photoanode for solar water splitting”, Nanoscale Res. Lett., 7, 593-598, 2012.
[4]	Becerril, M., Silva-López, H., Guillén-Cervantes, A., Zelaya-Ángel, O., “Aluminum-doped ZnO polycrystalline films prepared by co-sputtering of a ZnO-Al target”, Revista Mexicana De Física, 60, 27-31, 2014.
[5]	Alkahlout, A., Al Dahoudi, N., Grobelsek, I., Jilavi, M., de Oliveira, P. W., “Synthesis and characterization of aluminum doped zinc oxide nanostructures via hydrothermal route” J. Mater., 235638, 1-8, 2014.
[6]	Onkar Singh, Manmeet Pal Singh, Ravi Chand Singh., “Aluminum doping impact on morphology and sensing response of zinc oxide nanostructures”, The 14th International Meeting on Chemical Sensors, 2012.
[7]	Cebulla, R., Wendt, R., Ellmer, K., “Al-Doped Zinc Oxide films deposited by simultaneous RF and DC excitation of a magnetron plasma: Relationships between plasma parameters and structural and electrical film properties”, J. Appl. Phys. 83, 1087-1095, 1998.
[8]	Vanaja, A., Ramaraju, G. V. and Srinivasa Rao, K., “Structural and Optical Investigation of Al Doped ZnO Nanoparticles Synthesized by Sol-gel Process”, Ind. J. Sci. Technol., 9(12), 23-28, 2016.
[9]	Kumar, B., Kim, S. W., “Energy harvesting based on semiconducting piezoelectric ZnO nanostructures”, Nano Energy, 1, 342-355, 2012.
[10]	Musat, V., Teixeira, B., Fortunato, E., Monteiro, R. C. C., Vilarinho, P., “Al-doped ZnO thin films by sol–gel method” Surf. Coat. Technol., 180-181, 659-662, 2004.
[11]	Lopes, T., Andrade, L., Ribeiro, H. A., Mendes, A., “Characterization of photoelectrochemical cells for water splitting by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy”, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 35, 11601-11608, 2010.
[12]	Hao, Y., Yang, M., Li, W., Qiao, X., Zhang, L., Cai, S., “A photoelectrochemical solar cell based on ZnO/dye/polypyrrole film electrode as photoanode’ Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells, 60, 349-359, 2000.
[13]	Dharmadasa, I. M., Ojo, A. A., Salim, H. I., Dharmadasa, R., “Next Generation solar cells based on graded bandgap device structures utilising rod-type nano-materials”, Energies 8, 5440-5458, 2015.
[14]	Tyona, M. D., Osuji, R. U., Ezema, F. I., Jambure, S. B., Lokhande, C. D., “Enhanced photoelectrochemical solar cells based on natural dye-sensitized Al-doped zinc oxide electrodes”, Adv. Appl. Sci. Res., 7, 18-31, 2016.
[15]	Grätzel, M., “Photoelectrochemical cells”, Nature, 414, 338-344, 2001.
[16]	Tyona, M. D., Osuji, R. U., Ezema, F. I., Jambure, S. B., Lokhande, C. D., “Highly efficient natural dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical solar cells based on Cu-doped zinc oxide thin film electrodes”, Adv. Appl. Sci. Res., 6, 7-20, 2015.
[17]	Yousefi, M., Amiri, M., Azimirad, R., Moshfegh, A. Z., “Enhanced photoelectrochemical activity of Ce doped ZnO nanocomposite thin films under visible light”, J. Electroanal. Chem., 661, 106-112, 2011.
[18]	Lee, S. H., Han, S. H., Jung, H. S., Shin, H., Lee, J., Noh, J. H., Lee, S., Cho, I. S., Lee, J. K., Kim, J., Shin, H., “Al-Doped ZnO thin film: A new transparent conducting layer for ZnO nanowire-based dye-sensitized solar cells”, J. Phys. Chem .C, 114, 7185-7189, 2010.
[19]	Yao, P. C., Hang, S. T., Lin, Y. S., Yen, W. T., Lin, Y. C., “Optical and electrical characteristics of Al-doped ZnO thin films prepared by aqueous phase deposition” Appl. Surf. Sci., 257, 1441-1448, 2010.
[20]	Al-Ghamdi, A. A., Al-Hartomy, O. A., El Okr, M., Nawar. A. M., El-Gazzar, S., El-Tantawy, F., Yakuphanoglu, F., “Semiconducting properties of Al doped ZnO thin films”, Spectrochimica Acta, Part A, 131, 512-517, 2014.
[21]	Zhao, X., Shen, H., Zhang, Y., Li, X., Zhao, X., Tai, M., Li, J., Li Jianbao, Li Xin, and Lin Hong, , “Aluminum-Doped Zinc Oxide as Highly Stable Electron Collection Layer for Perovskite Solar Cells”, Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 8(12), 7826-7833, 2016.
[22]	Wen-Wu Zhong, Fa-Min Liu, Lu-Gang Cai, Xue-Quan Liu, Yi Li, , “Effect of Growth Time on the Structure, Raman Shift and Photoluminescence of Al and Sb Codoped ZnO Nanorod Ordered Array Thin Films”, Appl. Surf. Sci., 257, 9318- 9322, 2011.
[23]	Yu, J., Yuan, Z., Han, S. and Ma, Z., “Size-Selected Growth of Transparent Well-Aligned ZnO Nanowire Arrays”, Nanoscale Res. Lett., 7, 517-525, 2012
[24]	Wang, H. and Xie, C., “Controlled Fabrication of Nanostructured ZnO Particles and Porous Thin Films Via a Modified Chemical Bath Deposition Method”, J. Cryst. Growth, 291, 187-196, 2006.
[25]	Xia, Q.X., Hui, K.S., Hui, K.N., Hwang, D.H., Jai Singh, Cho, Y.R., Lee, S.K., Zhou, W., Wan, Z.P., Chi-Nhan Ha Thuc, Son, Y.G., “High quality p-type N-doped AZO nanorod arrays by an ammonia-assisted hydrothermal method”, Mater. Lett., 78, 180-183, 2012.
[26]	Mohanty, B. C., Jo, Y. H., Yeon, D. H., Choi, I. J., and Cho, Y. S., “Stress-induced anomalous shift of optical band gap in ZnO:Al thin films”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 62103-62111, 2009.
[27]	Shannon, R. D., “Revised effective ionic radii and systematic studies of interatomic distances in halides and chalcogenides”, Acta Crystallogr., Sect. A: Found. Adv. 32, 751-767, 1976.
[28]	Chow, L., Lupan, O., Chai, G., Khallaf, H., Ono, L., Roldan, K., Cuenya, B., Tiginyanu, I. M., Ursak, V. V., Sontea, V., Schulte, A., “Synthesis and characterization of Cu-doped ZnO one-dimensional structures for miniaturized sensor applications with faster response”, Sens. Actuators, A, 189, 399-408, 2013.
[29]	Burstein, E., “Anomalous optical absorption limit in InSb”, Phys. Rev. 93, 632-647, 1954.
[30]	Moss, T. S., “State-of-the-Art Program on Compound Semiconductors”, Proc Phys Soc London, B67, 775-782, 1954.
[31]	Tyona, M. D., Osuji, R. U., Asogwa, P. U., Jambure, S. B., Ezema, F. I., “Structural modification and band gap tailoring of zinc oxide thin films using copper impurities” J. Solid State Electrochem. 21, 2629-2637, 2017.
[32]	Jayaprakashan, R., Hodes, G., “Non-aqueous electrodeposition of ZnO and CdO films”, Thin Solid Films, 440, 19-27, 2003.
[33]	Shinde, N. M., Deshmukh, P. R., Patil, S. V., Lokhande, C. D., “Aqueous chemical growth of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films: Air annealing and photoelectrochemical properties”, Mater. Res. Bull., 48, 1760-1766, 2013.
[34]	Lokhande, C. D., Pawar, S. H., “Electrochemical photovoltaic cells for solar energy conversion” Mater. Chem. Phys., 11, 201-277, 1984.
[35]	Scregg, J., Dale, P., Peter, L., Zopp, G., Forbes, L., “New routes to sustainable photovoltaics: evaluation of Cu2ZnSnS4 as an alternative absorber material”, Phys. Status Solidi A, 245, 1772-1776, 2008.