Highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cell performance from template derived high surface area mesoporous TiO₂ nanospheres

Abstract

High surface area mesoporous anatase TiO 2 spheres are synthesized using ethylene glycol as a template by a solvothermal method. Electron microscopy studies revealed the formation of smooth surfaced mesoporous spheres with uniform size. A high surface area of 221.52 m 2 g À1 is obtained for the titanium tetraisopropoxide concentration of 0.5 mL. X-Ray diffraction and Raman analyses revealed the formation of anatase phase TiO 2 . Uniform deposition of a mesoporous film for a photoanode was achieved by an optimized spray deposition method. The effects of the ruthenium dye-sensitizer N719 and indoline dyesensitizer D205 on the dye sensitized solar cell performance are investigated. Maximum efficiencies of 8.96 and 9.02% are achieved using the sensitizers N719 and D205, respectively; from the mesoporous anatase TiO 2 sphere coated DSSC. IPCE analyses revealed that the mesoporous spheres efficiently collected the incident photons and achieved a conversion efficiency over 80% by internal reflections and a scattering process.

Highly efficient visible-light photocatalytic activity of MoS2–TiO2 mixtures hybrid photocatalyst and functional properties

“…5 It has a strong oxidizing power, high stability, low-cost, an abundant source, and is relatively non-toxic. [6][7][8][9][10] However, TiO 2 responds only to UV light, which is only 3-5% of the total sunlight. 11 The band gap of TiO 2 is 3.0 and 3.2 eV for the rutile and anatase phases, respectively, which is not compatible with visible-light excitation.…”

Synthesis of Mesoporous TiO2 Spheres via the Solvothermal Process and Its Application in the Development of DSSC

“…ere is a substantial difference between the preparation methods for mesoporous spheres described in the introduction and the one developed in this study. In the previous methods [31][32][33][34][35], the mesoporous spheres are formed in the first step of the sol-gel solution, then extracted, dried, and passed to the solvothermal process in an autoclave. In the present method, TiO 2 m microspheres are formed within the autoclave under the influence of a coalescence process at 200°C and HCl, which, with increasing concentration, produces larger mesoporous spheres, as observed in the FE-SEM studies shown in Figure 4.…”

“…Several methods for preparing TiO 2 m spheres using different variations of the solvothermal method have been published in the literature. A characteristic of these synthesis methods is that mesoporous spheres are formed in two steps: (a) formation of TiO 2 m spheres during a sol-gel process and (b) subjection of these spheres to a solvothermal process in an autoclave at temperatures between 150 and 200°C [31][32][33][34][35]. For example, some authors synthesized TiO 2 m precursor spheres from a sol-gel solution in the presence of hexadecylamine, then dried them in the air, and finally subjected them to solvothermal treatment in a mixture of water and ethanol [31,32].…”

“…For example, some authors synthesized TiO 2 m precursor spheres from a sol-gel solution in the presence of hexadecylamine, then dried them in the air, and finally subjected them to solvothermal treatment in a mixture of water and ethanol [31,32]. Another method used to form titania (anatase-rutile) spheres is to add titanium tetraisopropoxide to ethylene glycol to form a white suspension, drying it at 80°C for 10 h. e spheres obtained using this method are dispersed in water and ethanol, placed in an autoclave, and thermally treated at 150°C for 12 h [33]. Another synthesis method of TiO 2 m microspheres is the thermal hydrolysis of titanium sulfate, dissolving it later in n-propanol and water, and then performing the solvothermal reaction [34].…”

Photoelectrochemical performance and carrier lifetime of electrodes based on MWCNT-templated TiO2 nanoribbons

“…To increase the efficiency of sensitized solar cells (Dye and QD). The research focuses mainly on two strategies: adding an additive such as carbon nanotubes [15,16] or graphene [17] to the electron transport layer (ETL) to improve charge collection and carriers transport, as well as its surface area to absorb a larger amount of sensitizer [18], and Shifting the photoresponse of wide band gap oxides towards the visible region to increase the efficiency of semiconductors used as photocatalyst [19]. Impurities such as C and N have been known to shift the light absorption of TiO 2 to longer wavelengths [20].…”