Pure Na0.44MnO2 samples were prepared via a solid-state route by carefully tuning the synthesis conditions. Insertion/deinsertion of sodium into the well-crystallized particles leads to capacities as high as 140 mA.h/g. A potentiostatic intermittent titration technic, together with in situ X-ray diffraction measurements, enabled us to evidence the presence of six biphasic transitions within a potential range of 2-3.8 V (vs Na+/Na). The insertion process within the NaxMnO2 system is fully reversible over the 0.25 < x < 0.65 composition range and presents some degree of irreversibility as values of x below 0.25 are reached. Furthermore, we similarly showed that HCl treatment has a detrimental effect on these electrochemical properties because of structural and textural evolutions.

Dye-sensitized solar cells employing mesoporous TiO(2) beads have demonstrated longer electron diffusion lengths and extended electron lifetimes over Degussa P25 titania electrodes due to the well interconnected, densely packed nanocrystalline TiO(2) particles inside the beads. Careful selection of the dye to match the dye photon absorption characteristics with the light scattering properties of the beads have improved the light harvesting and conversion efficiency of the bead electrode in the dye-sensitized solar cell. This has resulted in a solar to electric power conversion efficiency (PCE) of greater than 10% (10.6% for Ru(II)-based dye C101 and 10.7% using C106) for the first time using a single screen-printed titania layer cell construction (that is, without an additional scattering layer).

In this paper, the pore filling of spiro‐OMeTAD (2,2′,7,7′‐tetrakis‐(N,N‐di‐p‐methoxyphenylamine)9,9′‐spirobifluorene) in mesoporous TiO2 films is quantified for the first time using XPS depth profiling and UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy. It is shown that spiro‐OMeTAD can penetrate the entire depth of the film, and its concentration is constant throughout the film. We determine that in a 2.5‐µm‐thick film, the volume of the pores is 60–65% filled. The pores become less filled when thicker films are used. Such filling fraction is much higher than the solution concentration because the excess solution on top of the film can act as a reservoir during the spin coating process. Lastly, we demonstrate that by using a lower spin coating speed and higher spiro‐OMeTAD solution concentration, we can increase the filling fraction and consequently the efficiency of the device.