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Influence of TiO2 Nanorod Arrays on the Bilayered Photoanode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

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Abstract

A TiO2 bilayered structure consisting of TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2NP) as an overlayer and single-crystal rutile TiO2 nanorods (TiO2 NRs) as an underlayer on a transparent conductive fluorine-doped tin oxide substrate was designed as the photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) through a facile hydrothermal treatment followed by a doctor-blade method. DSSCs based on the hierarchical TiO2 nano-architecture photoelectrode shows a power conversion efficiency of 7.39% because the relatively large specific surface area of TiO2NP increased the dye absorption, and oriented one-dimensional TiO2 NRs enhanced the light harvesting capability, accelerating interfacial electron transport. In particular, we observed the growth morphology of the TiO2 nanorod arrays in the bilayered photoanode and the influence of the whole solar cell. The result indicated that the TiO2 NRs layer clearly impacted the photoelectron chemical properties, while the vertical and intensive nanorod arrays significantly increased their performance.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21201156) and the Fundamental Research Founds for National University, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan, CUG130401). The financial support is gratefully appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Material Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, 430074, People’s Republic of China

    Ya Cao, Zhen Li, Yang Wang, Tao Zhang, Yinchang Li, Xueqin Liu & Fei Li

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  1. Ya Cao
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  2. Zhen Li
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  3. Yang Wang
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  4. Tao Zhang
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  5. Yinchang Li
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  6. Xueqin Liu
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  7. Fei Li
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Correspondence to Zhen Li.

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Cao, Y., Li, Z., Wang, Y. et al. Influence of TiO2 Nanorod Arrays on the Bilayered Photoanode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. J. Electron. Mater. 45, 4989–4998 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-016-4670-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-016-4670-7

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