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Electrospun TiO2 nanowires for hybrid photovoltaic cells

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An Erratum to this article was published on 01 September 2011

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Abstract

A simple and controllable fabrication of TiO2 nanowires by electrospinning and their applications to the electron transporting layer for hybrid organic–inorganic photovoltaic cells are reported. TiO2 nanowires were directly electrospun onto an indium tin oxide on glass substrate from a solution in methanol of polyvinylpyrrolidone, titanium(IV) butoxide, and acetylacetone. The nanowire electrode obtained was consequently subjected to calcination at 450 °C. Solution of blended [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester and poly(3-hexylthiophene) was spin coated on the TiO2 nanowire electrode, followed by thermal annealing and deposition of Au electrode. Hybrid organic–inorganic photovoltaic cells made of TiO2 nanowires exhibited remarkable improvement of the cell efficiencies in terms of photocurrent density and open-circuit voltage as compared with those of references, TiO2 flat films. Maximum energy conversion efficiency of hybrid organic–inorganic photovoltaic cells made of TiO2 nanowires of 1.27% was achieved.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) under the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Foreign Researchers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Advanced Energy, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 611-0011, Japan

    Surawut Chuangchote, Takashi Sagawa & Susumu Yoshikawa

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  1. Surawut Chuangchote
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  2. Takashi Sagawa
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  3. Susumu Yoshikawa
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Correspondence to Takashi Sagawa.

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Chuangchote, S., Sagawa, T. & Yoshikawa, S. Electrospun TiO2 nanowires for hybrid photovoltaic cells. Journal of Materials Research 26, 2316–2321 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2011.167

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