Facile solvothermal synthesis of single‑crystalline anatase nanorods for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

Wang, Xiao; Hao, Feng; Chen, Huiyuan; Wang, Gang; Li, Jianbao; Lin, Hong

doi:10.1351/PAC-CON-12-06-06

Pure Appl. Chem., 2013, Vol. 85, No. 2, pp. 417-425

http://dx.doi.org/10.1351/PAC-CON-12-06-06

Published online 2012-11-17

Facile solvothermal synthesis of single‑crystalline anatase nanorods for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

Xiao Wang¹, Feng Hao¹, Huiyuan Chen², Gang Wang², Jianbao Li¹ and Hong Lin¹*

¹ State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
² Collage of Chemical Engineering, Qinghai University, Xining, Qinghai 810016, China

Abstract: Single-crystalline anatase TiO₂ nanorods (TiO₂-SANRs) were synthesized through a facile solvothermal method and successfully applied as the photoanodes for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The prepared samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The power conversion efficiencies of TiO₂-SANRs decorated Degussa P25 nanoparticle solar cells increased by 13.5 % compared with commercial Degussa P25 TiO₂ solar cells under standard illumination conditions (AM 1.5G, 100 mW/cm^–2). The improved performance of the TiO₂-SANRs decorated Degussa P25 nanoparticle solar cells was primarily ascribed to the enhanced short-circuit photocurrent density (J_sc) despite a declined dye-loading capacity. The light-scattering effect in the long-wavelength region, as evidenced from the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) response and the diffuse reflectance spectroscopy was recognized as the main reason for the photocurrent enrichment.