This study explores the enhancement of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) through the modification of porous TiO2 photoanodes by incorporating two-dimensional graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) synthesized from urea. The combination of wide-bandgap TiO2 with narrow-bandgap g-C₃N₄ extends the optical response range of the TiO2 heterostructure composites from ultraviolet to visible light. The introduction of g-C3N4 with TiO2 to form a heterojunction significantly boosts the photovoltaic performance of the device by minimizing charge recombination at the photoanode-electrolyte interface. Upon optimizing the g-C3N4 loading, a peak power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.79 % is achieved, representing an impressive 42 % improvement over the pristine TiO2-based device. This enhancement is primarily attributed to the efficient separation of photogenerated charge carriers, facilitated by the type II band alignment between g-C3N4 and TiO2. This alignment, enabled by favorable conduction and valence band offsets, accelerates the separation of photogenerated carriers and prolongs electron lifetime.

中文翻译：

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通过 TiO2/g-C3N4 纳米复合光阳极提高染料敏化太阳能电池的光伏性能，以改善载流子管理


本研究通过掺入由尿素合成的二维石墨氮化碳 （g-C3N4），通过修饰多孔 TiO2 光阳极来增强染料敏化太阳能电池 （DSSC）。宽带隙 TiO2 与窄带隙 g-C₃N₄ 的组合将 TiO2 异质结构复合材料的光学响应范围从紫外光扩展到可见光。引入 g-C3N4 与 TiO2 形成异质结，通过最大限度地减少光阳极-电解质界面处的电荷复合，显着提高了器件的光伏性能。在优化 g-C3N4 负载后，实现了 10.79% 的峰值功率转换效率 （PCE），比基于 TiO2 的原始器件提高了 42%，令人印象深刻。这种增强主要归因于光生载流子的有效分离，这得益于 g-C3N4 和 TiO2 之间的 II 型带对齐。这种对准由有利的导带和价带偏移实现，加速了光生载流子的分离并延长了电子寿命。