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Controllable growth of vertically aligned Bi-doped TiO2 nanorod arrays for all-oxide solid-state DSSCs

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Abstract

In this study, vertically aligned Bi-doped TiO2 nanorod arrays as photoanodes were successfully grown on the fluorine-doped tin oxide by hydrothermal method. Structural analysis showed that bismuth was successfully incorporated into the TiO2 lattice at low concentration, but at higher concentration, phase segregation of Bi2O3 in the TiO2 matrix was occurred. TiO2 nanorods with 3 % bismuth concentration had minimum electrical resistivity. As the solid-state electrolyte, Mg-doped CuCrO2 nanoparticles with p-type conductivity were synthesized by sol–gel method. The fabricated all-oxide solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells with Bi-doped TiO2 nanorods displayed better photovoltaic performance due to the presence of Bi. The improved cell performance was correlated with the higher dye loading, slower charge recombination rate and the higher electrical conductivity of the photoanodes. After mechanical pressing, the all-oxide solid-state DSSC exhibited enhanced photovoltaic performance due to the formation of the large neck between adjacent nanoparticles by mechanical sintering. The open-circuit photovoltage decay measurement of the devices and electrical conductivity of the nanoparticles before and after pressing revealed that the mechanical pressing technique reduces charge recombination rate and facilitates electron transport through the interconnected nanoparticles.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF), under Grant Number 93034818.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laser and Plasma Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Evin, 1983969411, Tehran, Iran

    Morteza Asemi & Majid Ghanaatshoar

  2. Solar Cells Research Group, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Evin, 1983969411, Tehran, Iran

    Morteza Asemi & Majid Ghanaatshoar

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  1. Morteza Asemi
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  2. Majid Ghanaatshoar
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Correspondence to Majid Ghanaatshoar.

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Asemi, M., Ghanaatshoar, M. Controllable growth of vertically aligned Bi-doped TiO2 nanorod arrays for all-oxide solid-state DSSCs. Appl. Phys. A 122, 853 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-016-0389-9

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