Effect of Titanium Nanorods in the Photoelectrode on the Efficiency of Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

The effect of TiO 2 nanorods (TNR) and nanoparticles (TNP) composite photoelectrodes and the role of TNR to enhance the energy conversion efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was investigated. The 5% TNR content into the TNP photoelectrode significantly increased the short-circuit current density (J sc ) and the open-circuit potential (V oc ) with the overall energy conversion efficiency enhancement of 13.6% compared to the pure TNP photoelectrode. From the photochemical and impedemetric analysis, the increased J sc and V oc for the 5% TNR/TNP composite photoelectrode was attributed to the scattering effect of TNR, reduced electron diffusion path and the suppression of charge recombination between the composite photoelectrode and electrolyte or dye.

Enhanced photoresponse in dye-sensitized solar cells via localized surface plasmon resonance through highly stable nickel nanoparticles

“…12 Common strategies employed to overcome poor light absorption, and to improve carrier collection efficiency, include the use of thick photoanodes, 13 scattering layers, [14][15][16] back reflectors, 17,18 co-sensitizers, [19][20][21] and one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures. [22][23][24] However, quite often, many of these strategies do not give the expected results. For example, increasing the thickness of the TiO 2 photoelectrode, or changing the anisotropic nanostructure of TiO 2 (e.g.…”

Low-Temperature Chemical Sintered TiO2 Photoanodes Based on a Binary Liquid Mixture for Flexible Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

“…The preparation of TiO 2 photoanodes for conventional high-efficiency g-DSSCs fabrication requires the use of organic binders such as polyethylene glycol, ethylcellulose, and hydroxypropyl cellulose. These binders increase the viscosity of the TiO 2 pastes and enable the preparation of highly stable, crack-free, and homogenous mesoporous TiO 2 (mp-TiO 2 ) films with a thickness of > 10 µm [9,10]. During the sintering process at 500ºC, these organic binders are burned out and facilitate the formation of mp-TiO 2 layers.…”

“…During the sintering process at 500ºC, these organic binders are burned out and facilitate the formation of mp-TiO 2 layers. In addition, this process induces the development of excellent electrical pathways for transporting photo-injected electrons by improving the interparticle connection of TiO 2 and the adhesion of the TiO 2 layer with glass/FTO substrates [9][10][11]. However, the conventional binder containing TiO 2 pastes and the high-temperature sintering methods are unsuitable for fabricating transparent conducting oxide-coated plastic substrates-based flexible DSSC (f-DSSC) [8].…”