ZnO nanocactus loaded with gold nanoparticles for dye sensitized solar cells

ZnO nanocactus was grown on transparent conductive fluorine-doped tin oxide glass substrate for the first time through a facile two-step deposition. Dye sensitized solar cells based on the ZnO nanocactus loaded with gold nanoparticles with 12 μm thickness shows a power conversion efficiency of 3.8% because of its higher specific surface area for adsorbing more dye molecules and superior light scattering capacity for boosting the light harvesting efficiency.