A Convenient Route to High Area, Nanoparticulate TiO₂ Photoelectrodes Suitable for High-Efficiency Energy Conversion in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract

Ethanol-soluble amphiphilic TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) of average diameter ∼9 nm were synthesized, and an α-terpineol-based TiO2 paste was readily prepared from them in comparatively few steps. When used for fabrication of photoelectrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), the paste yielded highly transparent films and possessing greater-than-typical, thickness-normalized surface areas. These film properties enabled the corresponding DSSCs to produce high photocurrent densities (17.7 mA cm−2) and a comparatively high overall light-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency (9.6%) when deployed with the well-known ruthenium-based molecular dye, N719. These efficiencies are about ∼1.4 times greater than those obtained from DSSCs containing photoelectrodes derived from a standard commercial source of TiO2 paste