Dye sensitized solar cells (DSCs) provide a potential alternative to conventional p-n junction photovoltaic devices. The semiconductor thin film plays a crucial role in the working of DSC. This paper aims at formulating a process for the selection of optimum semiconductor material for nanostructured thin film using multiple attribute decision making (MADM) approach. Various possible available semiconducting materials and their properties like band gap, cost, mobility, rate of electron injection, and static dielectric constant are considered and MADM technique is applied to select the best suited material. It was found that, out of all possible candidates, titanium dioxide (TiO2) is the best semiconductor material for application in DSC. It was observed that the proposed results are in good agreement with the experimental findings. 1. Introduction Rapid depletion of conventional resources is a major source of concern for the world today. If not taken seriously, soon there shall be an inevitable energy crisis situation. To prevent such circumstances, researchers today are forced to explore alternate energy sources. Among available renewable energy sources, solar energy is the most promising and readily available alternative. Solar cells play a significant role in harnessing solar energy but, due to numerous reasons, we have still not been able to effectively use the power of sun. Conventional silicon (Si) solar cells generally require complex vacuum processing and fairly high temperature conditions which makes them an expensive energy source [1–3]. Moreover, their application is hampered by the lack of mechanical flexibility. Dye sensitized solar cells (DSCs) are attractive due to their simple and low cost fabrication technique. DSCs are different from almost all other types of solar cells in their functioning. DSCs are composed of a sensitizing dye adsorbed on a wide band nanostructured semiconductor film, a redox electrolyte, and a counter electrode consisting of a catalyst. Future applications of DSCs depend upon the development and selection of suitable materials for their components so as to give the best performance. Among various components of DSC, the nanocrystalline porous film electrode is most important as overall energy conversion of the cell is hugely affected by its morphological and electronic properties. There are many materials that are being used in the DSC while many more are being investigated. However, each of these materials has certain merits and limitations. Choosing the material of desired properties from large number of available
References
[1]
S. S. Sun and N. S. Sariciftci, Organic Photovoltaics : Mechanisms, Materials, and Devices (Optical Engineering), CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla, USA, 2005.
[2]
M. K. Siddiki, J. Li, D. Galipeau, and Q. Qiao, “A review of polymer multijunction solar cells,” Energy & Environmental Science, vol. 3, no. 7, pp. 867–883, 2010.
[3]
T. Xu and Q. Qiao, “Conjugated polymer-inorganic semiconductor hybrid solar cells,” Energy & Environmental Science, vol. 4, no. 8, pp. 2700–2720, 2011.
[4]
S. Jenks and R. Gilmore, “Material selection for the quantum dot intermediate band solar cell,” in Quantum Dot Solar Cells, vol. 15 of Lecture Notes in Nanoscale Science and Technology, pp. 135–166, Springer, New York, NY, USA, 2014.
[5]
H. Paul, C. David, and B. P. Rand, “Strategies for increasing the efficiency of heterojunction organic solar cells: material selection and device architecture,” Accounts of Chemical Research, vol. 42, no. 11, pp. 1740–1747, 2009.
[6]
A. B. Sebitosi, “Phase change material selection for small scale solar energy storage system,” Rwanda Journal C: Mathematical Sciences, Engineering and Technology, vol. 23, 2011.
[7]
C. L. Hwang and K. Yoon, Multiple Attribute Decision Making Methods and Application Survey, vol. 186 of Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, Springer, Berlin, Germany, 1981.
[8]
P. Sen and J. B. Yang, Multiple Criteria Decision Support in Engineering Design, Springer, New York, NY, USA, 1998.
[9]
A. S. Milani, A. Shanian, R. Madoliat, and J. A. Nemes, “The effect of normalization norms in multiple attribute decision making models: a case study in gear material selection,” Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 312–318, 2005.
[10]
T. C. Wang, J. L. Liang, and C. Y. Ho, “Multi-criteria decision analysis by using fuzzy VIKOR,” in Proceedings of the International Conference on Service Systems and Service Management, pp. 25–27, 2006.
[11]
S. Opricovic and G.-H. Tzeng, “Extended VIKOR method in comparison with outranking methods,” European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 178, no. 2, pp. 514–529, 2007.
[12]
S. Datta and S. Mahapatra, “Comparative study on application of utility concept and VIKOR method, for vendor selection,” in Proceedings of the AIMS International Conference on Value-Based Management, 2010.
[13]
J. R. San Cristóbal, “Multi-criteria decision-making in the selection of a renewable energy project in spain: the Vikor method,” Renewable Energy, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 498–502, 2011.
[14]
R. V. Rao, “A decision making methodology for material selection using an improved compromise ranking method,” Materials and Design, vol. 29, no. 10, pp. 1949–1954, 2008.
[15]
A. Shanian and O. Savadogo, “A material selection model based on the concept of multiple attribute decision making,” Materials and Design, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 329–337, 2006.
[16]
A. Shanian and O. Savadogo, “A non-compensatory compromised solution for material selection of bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) using ELECTRE IV,” Electrochimica Acta, vol. 51, no. 25, pp. 5307–5315, 2006.
[17]
P. Chatterjee and S. Chakraborty, “Material selection using preferential ranking methods,” Materials & Design, vol. 35, pp. 384–393, 2012.
[18]
P. Chatterjee, V. M. Athawale, and S. Chakraborty, “Selection of materials using compromise ranking and outranking methods,” Materials and Design, vol. 30, no. 10, pp. 4043–4053, 2009.
[19]
P. Chatterjee, V. M. Athawale, and S. Chakraborty, “Materials selection using complex proportional assessment and evaluation of mixed data methods,” Materials and Design, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 851–860, 2011.
[20]
S. R. Maity, P. Chatterjee, and S. Chakraborty, “Cutting tool material selection using grey complex proportional assessment method,” Materials & Design, vol. 36, pp. 372–378, 2012.
[21]
R. V. Rao, “A material selection model using graph theory and matrix approach,” Materials Science and Engineering A, vol. 431, pp. 48–55, 2006.
[22]
K. Maniya and M. G. Bhatt, “A selection of material using a novel type decision-making method: preference selection index method,” Materials and Design, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 1785–1789, 2010.
[23]
A. Jahan, M. Y. Ismail, F. Mustapha, and S. M. Sapuan, “Material selection based on ordinal data,” Materials and Design, vol. 31, no. 7, pp. 3180–3187, 2010.
[24]
N. Gupta, “Material selection for thin-film solar cells using multiple attribute decision making approach,” Materials & Design, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 1667–1671, 2011.
[25]
A. Jahan, M. Y. Ismail, S. M. Sapuan, and F. Mustapha, “Material screening and choosing methods—a review,” Materials & Design, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 696–705, 2010.
[26]
F. Pichot and B. A. Gregg, “The photovoltage -determining mechanism in dye-sensitized solar cells,” The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, vol. 104, no. 1, pp. 6–10, 2000.
[27]
S. Yanagida, T. Kitamura, and Y. Wada, “Control of charge transfer and interface structures in nano-structured dye-sensitized solar cell,” in Nanotechnology and Nano-Interface Controlled Electronic Devices, pp. 83–104, Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2003.
[28]
M. Nanu, J. Schoonman, and A. Goossens, “Solar-energy conversion in TiO2/CuInS2 nanocomposites,” Advanced Functional Materials, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 95–100, 2005.
[29]
R. Katoh, A. Furube, T. Yoshihara et al., “Efficiencies of electron injection from excited n3 dye into nanocrystalline semiconductor (ZrO2, TiO2, ZnO, Nb2O5, SnO2, In2O3) films,” Journal of Physical Chemistry B, vol. 108, no. 15, pp. 4818–4822, 2004.
[30]
J. B. Asbury, E. Hao, Y. Wang, H. N. Ghosh, and T. Lian, “Ultrafast electron transfer dynamics from molecular adsorbates to semiconductor nanocrystalline thin films,” Journal of Physical Chemistry B, vol. 105, no. 20, pp. 4545–4557, 2001.
[31]
R. W. Fessenden and P. V. Kamat, “Rate constants for charge injection from excited sensitizer into SnO2, ZnO, and TiO2 semiconductor nanocrystallites,” The Journal of Physical Chemistry, vol. 99, no. 34, pp. 12902–12906, 1995.
[32]
Y. Fukai, Y. Kondo, S. Mori, and E. Suzuki, “Highly efficient dye-sensitized SnO2 solar cells having sufficient electron diffusion length,” Electrochemistry Communications, vol. 9, no. 7, pp. 1439–1443, 2007.
[33]
A. Shanian and O. Savadogo, “TOPSIS multiple-criteria decision support analysis for material selection of metallic bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte fuel cell,” Journal of Power Sources, vol. 159, no. 2, pp. 1095–1104, 2006.
[34]
R. V. Rao and J. P. Davim, “A decision-making framework model for material selection using a combined multiple attribute decision-making method,” International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, vol. 35, no. 7-8, pp. 751–760, 2008.
[35]
A. Chauhan and R. Vaish, “Magnetic material selection using multiple attribute decision making approach,” Materials and Design, vol. 36, pp. 1–5, 2012.
[36]
C. Hwang and K. Yoon, Multiple Attribute Decision Making Methods and Application Survey, Springer, Berlin , Germany, 1981.
[37]
J. Nowotny, “Titanium dioxide-based semiconductors for solar-driven environmentally friendly applications: Impact of point defects on performance,” Energy and Environmental Science, vol. 1, no. 5, pp. 565–572, 2008.
[38]
D. E. Scaife, “Oxide semiconductors in photoelectrochemical conversion of solar energy,” Solar Energy, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 41–54, 1980.
[39]
A. Furube, M. Murai, S. Watanabe, K. Hara, R. Katoh, and M. Tachiya, “Near-IR transient absorption study on ultrafast electron-injection dynamics from a Ru-complex dye into nanocrystalline In2O3 thin films: comparison with SnO2, ZnO, and TiO2 films,” Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, vol. 182, no. 3, pp. 273–279, 2006.
[40]
V. M. Aroutiounian, V. M. Arakelyan, and G. E. Shahnazaryan, “Investigations of the metal-oxide semiconductors promising for photoelectrochemical conversion of solar energy,” Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, vol. 89, no. 2-3, pp. 153–163, 2005.
[41]
D. C. Look, D. C. Reynolds, J. R. Sizelove et al., “Electrical properties of bulk ZnO,” Solid State Communications, vol. 105, no. 6, pp. 399–401, 1998.
[42]
Z. M. Jarzebski and J. P. Marton, “Physical properties of SnO2 materials II. Electrical properties,” Journal of the Electrochemistry Society, vol. 123, pp. 299C–310C, 1976.
[43]
D. Jousse, C. Constantino, and I. Chambouleyron, “Highly conductive and transparent amorphous tin oxide,” Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 431–434, 1983.
[44]
E. Shanthi, V. Dutta, A. Banerjee, and K. L. Chopra, “Electrical and optical properties of undoped and antimony-doped tin oxide films,” Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 51, no. 12, pp. 6243–6251, 1980.
[45]
X. Ai, N. A. Andersen, J. Guo, and T. Lian, “Electron injection dynamics of Ru polypyridyl complexes on SnO2 nanocrystalline thin films,” The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, vol. 109, no. 15, pp. 7088–7094, 2005.
[46]
B. Enright and D. Fitzmaurice, “Spectroscopic determination of electron and hole effective masses in a nanocrystalline semiconductor film,” Journal of Physical Chemistry, vol. 100, no. 3, pp. 1027–1035, 1996.
[47]
J. Robertson, “Electronic structure of SnO2, GeO2, PbO2, TeO2 and MgF2,” Journal of Physics C: Solid State Physics, vol. 12, no. 22, pp. 4767–4776, 1979.
[48]
P. Tiwana, P. Docampo, M. B. Johnston, H. J. Snaith, and L. M. Herz, “Electron mobility and injection dynamics in mesoporous ZnO, SnO2, and TiO2 films used in dye-sensitized solar cells,” ACS Nano, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 5158–5166, 2011.
[49]
M. K. Nazeeruddin, F. de Angelis, S. Fantacci et al., “Combined experimental and DFT-TDDFT computational study of photoelectrochemical cell ruthenium sensitizers,” Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 127, no. 48, pp. 16835–16847, 2005.
[50]
F. Gao, Y. Wang, D. Shi et al., “Enhance the optical absorptivity of nanocrystalline TiO2 film with high molar extinction coefficient ruthenium sensitizers for high performance dye-sensitized solar cells,” Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 130, no. 32, pp. 10720–10728, 2008.
[51]
C.-Y. Chen, M. Wang, J.-Y. Li, et al., “Highly efficient light-harvesting ruthenium sensitizer for thin-film dye-sensitized solar cells,” ACS Nano, vol. 3, no. 10, pp. 3103–3109, 2009.
[52]
Y. Chiba, A. Islam, Y. Watanabe, R. Komiya, N. Koide, and L. Han, “Dye-sensitized solar cells with conversion efficiency of 11.1%,” Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Part 2: Letters, vol. 45, no. 24–28, pp. L638–L640, 2006.
[53]
Q. Zhang, C. S. Dandeneau, X. Zhou, and C. Cao, “ZnO nanostructures for dye-sensitized solar cells,” Advanced Materials, vol. 21, no. 41, pp. 4087–4108, 2009.
[54]
K. Keis, E. Magnusson, H. Lindstr？m, S.-E. Lindquist, and A. Hagfeldt, “A 5% efficient photoelectrochemical solar cell based on nanostructured ZnO electrodes,” Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, vol. 73, no. 1, pp. 51–58, 2002.
[55]
W. J. Lee, A. Suzuki, K. Imaeda, H. Okada, A. Wakahara, and A. Yoshida, “Fabrication and characterization of eosin-Y-sensitized ZnO solar cell,” Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 43, no. 1, part 1, pp. 152–155, 2004.
[56]
Q. Zhang, T. P. Chou, B. Russo, S. A. Jenekhe, and G. Cao, “Aggregation of ZnO nanocrystallites for high conversion efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells,” Angewandte Chemie—International Edition, vol. 47, no. 13, pp. 2402–2406, 2008.
[57]
A. N. M. Green, E. Palomares, S. A. Haque, J. M. Kroon, and J. R. Durrant, “Charge transport versus recombination in dye-sensitized solar cells employing nanocrystalline TiO2 and SnO2 films,” Journal of Physical Chemistry B, vol. 109, no. 25, pp. 12525–12533, 2005.
[58]
N.-G. Park, M. G. Kang, K. M. Kim, et al., “Morphological and photoelectrochemical characterization of core-shell nanoparticle films for dye-sensitized solar cells: Zn-O type shell on SnO2 and TiO2 cores,” Langmuir, vol. 20, no. 10, pp. 4246–4253, 2004.
[59]
C. Prasittichai and J. T. Hupp, “Surface modification of SnO2 photoelectrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells: Significant improvements in photovoltage via Al2O3 atomic layer deposition,” Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, vol. 1, no. 10, pp. 1611–1615, 2010.
[60]
J. B. Xia, F. Y. Li, S. M. Yang, and C. H. Huang, “Composite electrode SnO2/TiO2 for dye-sensitized solar cells,” Chinese Chemical Letters, vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 619–622, 2004.
[61]
Z. M. Jarzebski and J. P. Marton, “Physical properties of SnO2 materials,” Journal of the Electrochemical Society, vol. 123, pp. 299C–310C, 1976.
[62]
M. S. Arnold, P. Avouris, Z. W. Pan, and Z. L. Wang, “Field-effect transistors based on single semiconducting oxide nanobelts,” The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, vol. 107, no. 3, pp. 659–663, 2003.
[63]
E. Hendry, M. Koeberg, B. O'Regan, and M. Bonn, “Local field effects on electron transport in nanostructured TiO2 revealed by terahertz spectroscopy,” Nano Letters, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 755–759, 2006.
[64]
A. Kay and M. Gr？tzel, “Dye-sensitized core-shell nanocrystals: improved efficiency of mesoporous tin oxide electrodes coated with a thin layer of an insulating oxide,” Chemistry of Materials, vol. 14, no. 7, pp. 2930–2935, 2002.
[65]
M. K. I. Senevirathna, P. K. D. D. P. Pitigala, E. V. A. Premalal, K. Tennakone, G. R. A. Kumara, and A. Konno, “Stability of the SnO2/MgO dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical solar cell,” Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, vol. 91, no. 6, pp. 544–547, 2007.
[66]
D. Niinobe, Y. Makari, T. Kitamura, Y. Wada, and S. Yanagida, “Origin of enhancement in open-circuit voltage by adding ZnO to nanocrystalline SnO2 in dye-sensitized solar cells,” Journal of Physical Chemistry B, vol. 109, no. 38, pp. 17892–17900, 2005.
