Hydrothermal synthesis of TiO₂ nanoparticles doped with trace amounts of strontium, and their application as working electrodes for dye sensitized solar cells: tunable electrical properties & enhanced photo-conversion performance

Abstract

Strontium (Sr) doped TiO2 nanoparticles are investigated with a view to studying the performance parameters of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).

Ruthenium (Ru) Doped Titanium Dioxide (P25) Electrode for Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

“…The higher values of resistance related to electron recombination indicate reduced electron recombination in Ru-doped electrodes [45]. This is the reason for the higher Jsc values for the Ru-doped devices in the J-V measurement [32] even though increased recombination resistance and reduced recombination rate improve the Voc of the Ru-doped devices, this can also be attributed to the reduction in the bandgap as well [15]. A similar observation was reported by Wang et al in perovskite solar cells [29] and also Ismael et al (2019) reported that Ru-doping could facilitate the separation and migration of photogenerated electron-hole pairs [41].…”

“…This indicates that the anatase and rutile crystal structures are retained even after the TiO2 being doped with Ru. The average crystallite size was calculated by the Scherrer Equation [15] d= Ɵ…”

“…It is evident that dopant materials narrow the bandgap and increase the charge traps of TiO 2 and hence modify the properties, such as conduction band energy, charge transport, recombination and collection of charge carriers [13]. Different dopants, such as transition metals, alkali earth metals [14,15], non-metals [16,17], and rare earth elements [14,18], have been employed; but the incorporation of transition metals into TiO 2 gives rise to the formation of a wide range of new energy levels arising from the partially filled d-orbitals of transition metals close to the conduction band (CB) of TiO 2 , that leads to a reduction in the bandgap and enhancement in harvesting visible light. This makes transition metals suitable for tuning the CB structure [13].…”

Synthesis of TiO2nanoparticles at low hydrothermal temperature and its performance for DSSC sensitized using natural dye extracted fromMelastoma malabathricumL. seeds

“…The discovery that TiO 2 can be used as a semiconductor in the development of dye‐sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has driven even more intensive research and led investigators to find a rapid and cheap way to synthesize TiO 2 nanoparticles. One of the methods to synthesize TiO 2 nanoparticles is through hydrothermal method; however, the process temperature is relatively high . To further reduce the cost of the synthesis process, preparation of TiO 2 nanoparticles at lower temperature would be preferable.…”

“…One of the methods to synthesize TiO 2 nanoparticles is through hydrothermal method 6 ; however, the process temperature is relatively high. 7 To further reduce the cost of the synthesis process, preparation of TiO 2 nanoparticles at lower temperature would be preferable.…”