Fabrication of long TiO2 nanotube arrays in a short time using a hybrid anodic method for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

Improved performance in dye-sensitized solar cells by rationally tailoring anodic TiO2 nanotube length

“…It is known that electrons migrate in the photoanode in a way of diffusion; thus, crystallite boundaries between TiO 2 nanoparticles and the trap states on the particle surface would definitely serve as trap centers to retard electron transportation, and increase the chances of electron recombination with the excited dye molecules or the interpenetrating electrolyte. One solution to solve these problems is to employ highly ordered nanostructure arrays into DSSCs e.g., TiO 2 nanotube (TNT), TiO 2 nanorod, and ZnO nanowire arrays [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. The employed onedimensional (1-D) nanostructure arrays act as direct percolation paths for electron transport so as to increase the electron collection efficiency, as compared to the twisted way supplied by interconnected nanoparticles.…”

“…The employed onedimensional (1-D) nanostructure arrays act as direct percolation paths for electron transport so as to increase the electron collection efficiency, as compared to the twisted way supplied by interconnected nanoparticles. Among the various nanostructures, the anodic TNT arrays [20][21][22][23] have been widely used in DSSCs because of the simplicity of the fabrication processes as well as the adjustable nano-sizes, well-defined tube morphology, and large surface areas etc. It was also reported [27] that as compared to the TiO 2 nanoparticle-based film with the same thickness, the highly ordered anodic TNT arrays could enhance the light scattering and improve charge collection efficiency.…”

Microsphere assembly of boron-doped Rutile TiO2 nanotubes with enhanced photoelectric performance

“…Nonetheless, the 1-D nanomaterial with poor specific surface area thus few active sites is still a serious problem that retards the efficiency of DSSCs [5,6]. However, TiO 2 nanotubes with increased effective surface area for dye loading and enhanced intrinsic sunlight capture efficiency are supposed to obtain high photoelectric conversion efficiency [7]. In addition, due to low electron transfer resistance and long electron lifetime, DSSCs with photoanode composed of TiO 2 nanotubes exhibit enhanced electron collection efficiency, which is crucial for high efficiency solar cells [8][9][10].…”

Titania Nanostructures for Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

“…Nowadays, even more advanced geometries of TiO 2 nanotubes can be prepared by different methods [44,[59][60][61][62][63]. For example, Zheng et al reported the influence of hierarchical structures, constructed via layerby-layer assembly of self-standing titania nanotube arrays and nanoparticles, upon charge recombination and photoelectric performance of front-illuminated DSCs [64].…”