Improving of the Photovoltaic Characteristics of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using a Photoelectrode with Electrospun Porous TiO2 Nanofibers

Abstract

Porous TiO2 nanofibers (PTFs) and dense TiO2 nanofibers (DTFs) were prepared using simple electrospinning for application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). TiO2 nanoparticles (TNPs) were prepared using a hydrothermal reaction. The as-prepared PTFs and DTFs (with a fiber diameter of around 200 nm) were mixed with TNPs such as TNP-PTF and TNP-DTF nanocomposites used in photoelectrode materials or were coated as light scattering layers on the photoelectrodes to improve the charge transfer ability and light harvesting effect of the DSSCs. The as-prepared TNPs showed a pure anatase phase, while the PTFs and DTFs showed both the anatase and rutile phases. The TNP-PTF composite (TNP:PTF = 9:1 wt.%) exhibited an enhanced short circuit photocurrent density (Jsc) of 14.95 ± 1.03 mA cm−2 and a photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE, η) of 5.4 ± 0.17% because of the improved charge transport and accessibility for the electrolyte ions. In addition, the TNP/PTF photoelectrode showed excellent light absorption in the visible region because of the mountainous nature of light induced by the PTF light scattering layer. The TNP/PTF photoelectrode showed the highest Jsc (16.96 ± 0.79 mA cm−2), η (5.9 ± 0.13%), and open circuit voltage (Voc, 0.66 ± 0.02 V).

A Review on the Secondary Surface Morphology of Electrospun Nanofibers: Formation Mechanisms, Characterizations, and Applications

“…Increasing the porosity and specific surface area of fibers can be accomplished with improving the performance of absorption, catalysis, sensors, and so on. Therefore, porous fibers have presented extensive use in a wide variety of applications …”

The Impact of TiO2 Nanoparticle Concentration Levels on Impulse Breakdown Performance of Mineral Oil-Based Nanofluids

“…TiO 2 nanoparticles have already been extensively used in many fields such as environmental application, battery production, biomedical industry, personal care appliances, and cosmetics [10,11]. With the help of the surface modification method, TiO 2 nanoparticles were found to be dispersed in mineral oil without agglomeration and precipitation for 18 months [12].…”

“…The previous researches aimed at investigating effects of different nanoparticle types on the dielectric properties of insulating oil [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15]. However, the mechanism behind the variation in breakdown voltages of nanofluids caused by different concentration levels was not investigated in detail.…”

Solid-State Solar Energy Conversion from WO3 Nano and Microstructures with Charge Transportation and Light-Scattering Characteristics

“…DSSCs can be prepared easily at a low cost [1]. Among the electrolytes used in DSSCs, liquid-state electrolytes have been studied extensively due to their high efficiency (~12%) [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. However, liquid-state electrolytes exhibit instability because of leakage and evaporation, and hence find limited DSSC applications.…”