1 research outputs found
Electrospun Hierarchical TiO<sub>2</sub> Nanorods with High Porosity for Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Ultraporous anatase TiO<sub>2</sub> nanorods with a composite structure
of mesopores and macropores fabricated via a simple microemulsion
electrospinning approach were first used as photoanode materials for
high-efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The special multiscale
porous structure was formed by using low-cost paraffin oil microemulsion
droplets as the soft template, which can not only provide enhanced
adsorption sites for dye molecules but also facilitate the electrolyte
diffusion. The morphology, porosity, and photovoltaic and electron
dynamic characteristics of the porous TiO<sub>2</sub> nanorod based
DSSCs were investigated in detail by scanning electron microscopy
(SEM), N<sub>2</sub> sorption measurements, current density–voltage
(<i>J</i>–<i>V</i>) curves, UV–vis
diffuse reflectance spectra, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
(EIS), intensity modulated photocurrent/photovoltage spectroscopy
(IMPS/IMVS), and open-circuit voltage decay (OCVD) measurements. The
results revealed that, although fewer amounts of dyes were anchored
on the porous TiO<sub>2</sub> nanorod films, they exhibited stronger
light scattering ability, fast electrolyte diffusion, and extended
electron lifetime compared to the commercial P25 nanoparticles. A
power conversion efficiency of 6.07% was obtained for the porous TiO<sub>2</sub> nanorod based DSSCs. Moreover, this value can be further
improved to 8.53% when bilayer structured photoanode with porous TiO<sub>2</sub> nanorods acting as the light scattering layer was constructed.
This study demonstrated that the porous TiO<sub>2</sub> nanorods can
work as promising photoanode materials for DSSCs