In
this study, the
in situ
sol–gel method
has been deployed to prepare the titanium dioxide/multiwalled carbon
nanotubes (TiO
2
/MWCNTs) nanocomposite (NCs) powders with
varying content of MWCNTs (0.01–1.0 wt %), to construct the
dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). First, binder-free NCs were deposited
on a transparent-conducting F:SnO
2
(FTO) glass substrate
by a doctor-blade technique and then anchored with Ru(II)-based dyes
to either N719 or ruthenium phthalocyanine (RuPc). The structural
and optical properties and interconnectivity of the materials within
the composite are investigated thoroughly by various spectral techniques
(XRD, XPS, Raman, FT-IR, and UV–vis), electron microscopy (HRTEM),
and BET analysis. The experimental results suggest that the ratio
of MWCNTs and TiO
2
in NCs, morphology, and their interconnectivity
influenced their structural, optical, and photovoltaic properties
significantly. Finally, the photovoltaic performances of the assembled
DSSCs with different content of MWCNTs to TiO
2
films anchored
with two different dyes were tested under one sun irradiation (100
mW/cm
2
). The measured current–voltage (
IV
) curve and incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE)
spectra of TiO
2
/0.1 wt % MWCNTs (T@0.1 C) for N719 dye
show three times more power conversion efficiency (η = 6.21%)
which is opposed to an efficiency (η = 2.07%) of T@0.1
C for RuPc dye under the same operating conditions.