Abstract It has been reported that doping ZnO with metal ions can alter the band gap and immensely enhance electron transport. In this regard, to increase the efficiency of cost-effective dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), we synthesized Cu-doped ZnO nanocomposites from layered double hydroxide (LDH) precursors via a facile method. LDH layers were homogeneously doped with Cu ions, and mixed metal oxides (MMOs) were obtained after annealing. The morphology and optical and electrochemical properties of the as-synthesized Cu-doped ZnO nanocomposites were systematically studied. The introduction of Cu ions increases the specific surface area of ZnO and increases light absorption in the visible region. The Cu-doped ZnO MMOs were used as the photoanode of DSSCs, and the effect of the amount of the Cu dopant on the performance of the solar cells was studied. At the optimal doping weight percentage of Cu (0.25 wt%), the solar cell based on Cu-doped ZnO MMO and D149 dye achieved the highest short-circuit current of 7.12 mA cm−2 and the highest power conversion efficiency of 1.50%.

中文翻译：

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层状双氢氧化物制备Cu掺杂ZnO纳米颗粒及其在染料敏化太阳能电池中的应用

摘要 据报道，用金属离子掺杂 ZnO 可以改变带隙并极大地增强电子传输。在这方面，为了提高具有成本效益的染料敏化太阳能电池 (DSSC) 的效率，我们通过简便的方法从层状双氢氧化物 (LDH) 前驱体合成了 Cu 掺杂的 ZnO 纳米复合材料。LDH层均匀掺杂Cu离子，退火后得到混合金属氧化物（MMO）。系统地研究了合成的 Cu 掺杂 ZnO 纳米复合材料的形貌、光学和电化学性能。Cu离子的引入增加了ZnO的比表面积并增加了可见光区的光吸收。Cu掺杂的ZnO MMOs用作DSSCs的光电阳极，研究了Cu掺杂量对太阳能电池性能的影响。在最佳的 Cu 掺杂重量百分比（0.25 wt%）下，基于 Cu 掺杂的 ZnO MMO 和 D149 染料的太阳能电池实现了 7.12 mA cm-2 的最高短路电流和 1.50% 的最高功率转换效率。