Three-dimensional zno nanodendrite/nanoparticle composite solar cells

ZnO nanodendrite (ND)/nanoparticle (NP) composite films have been synthesized on FTO substrates using a simple wet-chemical route. The aligned and high-density ZnO nanowire (NW) array was first synthesized on the FTO substrate by an aqueous chemical bath deposition (CBD) and the branches of the ZnO NDs were then formed using a hydrothermal process without any capping agent. ZnO nanoparticels (NPs) were further bottom-up grown within the interstices of the ZnO NDs using a base-free CBD method to form 3D ZnO ND/NP composite film. A significant improvement of the efficiency of the ZnO DSSC has been achieved using the ZnO ND/NP composite film as photoanode.