Mesoporous TiO2 spheres as a photoanodic material in dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Mesoporous TiO 2 films with spherical architectures and promising performance in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were prepared. The morphology of the films was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. Transmission electron microscopy analysis of the spheres disclosed the elongated shape of sub-20 nm primary particles, while BET analysis revealed their high surface area of 135 m 2 /g. Anatase presence was observed in the films based on X-ray diffractometry, selected-area electron diffraction analysis and Raman spectroscopy analyses. Increased light scattering of the spheres in visible region was observed by UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy. Photovoltaic performance of the operating N719-sensitized cells was tested using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and current density-voltage (J-V) curves under simulated AM1.5 spectrum. The 0.25 cm 2 cells exhibited photo-to-electric power efficiency of 4.9%, which is among noteworthy values for DSSCs with similar photoanodic structures.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Alcohol Oxidation at the Interface of RuC-Coated TiO2 Nanorod Arrays

“…The smaller R ct suggests better interaction with the electrolyte, which would support enhanced photocatalytic activity for benzylic alcohol oxidation at photoanode. The electron lifetimes (τ n ) of FTO|t-TiO 2 |RuC films were calculated using eq : , where f max is the frequency at which the phase angle reaches the maximum in the bode plots of the EIS test (Figure S6). The maximum frequencies of for FTO|t-TiO 2 |RuC films and the derived electron lifetimes are summarized in Table S5.…”

How Can the Introduction of Zr4+ Ions into TiO2 Nanomaterial Impact the DSSC Photoconversion Efficiency? A Comprehensive Theoretical and Experimental Consideration

“…It should be noted that the fill factor (FF) values registered for all devices are very high (>70%), which indicates that the semiconductor manufacturing process developed by our research group ensures high-quality cells. Fill factor is a crucial DSSC parameter and represents, among others, the energy loss caused by series resistance, electrolyte thickness (spacer influence), and counter electrode production quality (Pt layer) [ 88 , 89 , 90 ]. It may be observed that indeed the TCO resistance (R 1 ) correlates with FF since the highest FF value was observed for DSSC with the lowest R 1 values (see Table 7 ).…”