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Synthesis of anatase TiO2 microspheres and their efficient performance in dye-sensitized solar cell

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Abstract

Nanomaterials play important role in performance of dye-sensitized solar cells. In this paper, highly phase pure anatase TiO2 microspheres were synthesized using a low-cost hydrothermal route. Initially, X-ray diffraction studies and Raman spectroscopic analysis were carried out, and the formation of tetragonal structure of TiO2 with the anatase phase was confirmed. The UV–Vis DRS studies showed the excellent reflectance and optical band-gap energy of 3.29 eV. The well-interconnected spherical nanoparticles with different sizes were examined by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopic analysis. The fabricated dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) composed of prepared TiO2 microspheres as photoanode exhibited a higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) (η) of 5.4% as compared to commercial P25 with PCE of 3.6%. The higher Jsc (12.03 mA/cm2) in the fabricated DSSC due to efficient dye loading capacity and high light-scattering property was also observed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology for providing access to their Raman and FESEM facilities.

Funding

SSN Trust (partially).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, SSN Research Centre, Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering, Kalavakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 603110, India

    V. Gowthambabu, R. Govindaraj, R. Isaac Daniel  & P. Ramasamy

  2. Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering, Kalavakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 603110, India

    Mrunal Deshpande, V. K. Nithesh Krishna, M. Leela Charumathi, J. Manish Kumar & M. S. Dhilip Vignesh

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  1. V. Gowthambabu
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  2. Mrunal Deshpande
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Correspondence to R. Govindaraj.

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Gowthambabu, V., Deshpande, M., Govindaraj, R. et al. Synthesis of anatase TiO2 microspheres and their efficient performance in dye-sensitized solar cell. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 32, 26306–26317 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-06923-1

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