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A facile low temperature synthesis of TiO2 nanorods for high efficiency dye sensitized solar cells

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Abstract

Titania (TiO2) nanorods have been synthesized with controlled size for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) via hydrothermal route at low hydrothermal temperature of 100 °C for 24 h. The titania nanorods were characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM/HRTEM, UV-vis Spectroscopy, FTIR and BET specific surface area (S BET), as well as pore-size distribution by BJH. The results indicated that the bulk traps and the surface states within the TiO2 nanorods films have enhanced the efficiency of DSSCs. The size of the titania nanorods was 6.7 nm in width and 22 nm in length. The high surface area can provide more sites for dye adsorption, while the fast photoelectron-transfer channel can enhance the photogenerated electron transfer to complete the circuit. The specific surface area S BET was 77.14 m2 g−1 at the synthesis conditions. However, the band gap energy of the obtained titania nanorods was 3.2 eV. The oriented nanorods with appropriate lengths are beneficial in improving the electron transport property and thus leading to the increase of photocurrent, together enhancing the power conversion efficiency. A nearly quantitative absorbed photon-to-electrical current conversion achieved upon excitation at wave length of 550 nm and the power efficiency was enhanced from 5.6 % for commercial TiO2 nanoparticles Degussa (P25) cells to 7.2 % for TiO2 nanorods cells under AM 1.5 illumination (100 mW cm−2). The TiO2 cells performance was improved due to their high surface area, hierarchically mesoporous structures and fast electron-transfer rate compared with the Degussa (P25).

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) and Ministry of Scientific Research of Egypt. Ahmed Shalan acknowledges Prof. Monica Lira and her lab in Centre de Investigacio en Nanociencia I Nanotecnologia (Cin2, CSIC), ETSE, Campus UAB, Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain for their support and helping in pursue part of the experimental section.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electronic and Magnetic Materials Division, Advanced Materials Department, Central Metallurgical Research & Development Institute (CMRDI), P.O. Box 87, Helwan, Cairo, Egypt

    A. E. Shalan & M. M. Rashad

  2. Centre de Investigacio en Nanociencia I Nanotecnologia (Cin2, CSIC), ETSE, Campus UAB, Edifici Q, 2nd Floor, Bellaterra, Barcelona, 08193, Spain

    A. E. Shalan, Youhai Yu & Mónica Lira-Cantú

  3. Nano-Photochemistry and Solar Chemistry Lab, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, 11566, Abbassia, Cairo, Egypt

    M. S. A. Abdel-Mottaleb

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  1. A. E. Shalan
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Shalan, A.E., Rashad, M.M., Yu, Y. et al. A facile low temperature synthesis of TiO2 nanorods for high efficiency dye sensitized solar cells. Appl. Phys. A 110, 111–122 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-012-7368-6

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