Effects of Hydrothermal Growth Conditions of ZnO Nanorods Arrays on Flexible Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

ZnO nanorod arrays (ZNRs) were prepared on the tin-doped indium oxide polyethylene terephthalate (ITO-PET) by hydrothermal method under different conditions. Morphology of ZNRs was characterized by some quantitative parameters such as the diameter and length of nanorod and the density of rods. All these parameters were adjusted by changing the reaction conditions. Two important reaction conditions including reaction time and precursor concentration are discussed separately. It is demonstrated that the precursor concentration has great influence on the aspect ratio of nanorod. Flexible substrates with ZNRs are used as the novel photoanode of flexible dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The aspect ratio of nanorod has major influence on the performance of flexible DSCs. The performance of flexible DSCs is improved by controlling the reaction conditions.