Effect of deposition temperature on the physicochemical properties of PEG modified electrodeposited ZnO thin films and their photoactive performance in natural dye-sensitized solar cells

Zinc oxide (ZnO) films were electrodeposited at −1.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl in 0.3 M Zn (NO 3 ) 2 with Polyethylene glycol (PEG (4000)) additive to investigate the impact of the deposition temperature. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses and raman spectroscopy confirmed that increased deposition temperature led to the growth of larger crystallites. Electron density contour mapping further revealed that at 60 0 C exhibited the maximum electron density of ∼24.8 electrons/Å 3 . The potential of electrodeposited ZnO films for application in natural dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was initially investigated. A higher electron density and minimum band gap and internal resistance contributed to the improved DSSC performance at 60 °C.