Combined Embedding of N/F-Doping and CaCO3 Surface Modification in the TiO2 Photoanode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

N/F-doping and CaCO3 surface modification was carried out in TiO2 photoelectrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The combined effect of the N/F doped TiO2 and the CaCO3 coating showed a great increase of the short-circuit current (J(sc)), and photoelectric conversion efficiency (η) of the prepared cells; the efficiency (η) was improved from 7.00% of a commercial TiO2 photoelectrode to 7.90% of an uncoated N/F-doped electrode, and to 9.09% of a N/F-doped and CaCO3 surface modified electrode. An enhanced photoresponse in N/F-doped TiO2 nanoparticles generate more photo-excited electrons, as supported by measured UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra. A successive CaCO3 surface modification then forms a barrier on the surface of the N/F-doped TiO2 particles; the higher basicity of the CaCO3 modified TiO2 facilitates the dye adsorption, as supported by the direct measurement of the amount of adsorbed dye.

Fabrication N, F, and N/F-Doped TiO2 Photoelectrodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

In this study, pure TiO2, N-doped TiO2, F-doped TiO2, and N/F-doped TiO2 particles were successfully synthesized through the hydrolysis of TiCl4 in the presence of ammonia water and NH4F, respectively. The introduction of doping materials did not affect the crystalline structure. No absorption peak for pure TiO2 was observed above the wavelength of 400 nm. However, the N-doped TiO2 and N/F-doped TiO2 powders exhibited a new absorption peak in the visible light region between 400 and 530 nm. The Jsc value of DSSCs based on the N/F-doped TiO2 electrode was increased by 10% compared to DSSCs using a pure TiO2 electrode, and the energy conversion efficiency was increased by 12%.

Preparation of Carbon-Doped TiO2 and Its Application as a Photoelectrodes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

In this study, C-doped TiO2 particles were successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Three binding energy peaks were observed at 284.6, 286.2, and 288.5 eV in the C is region of the XPS. The signals at 286.2 and 288.5 eV were attributed to chemically bound C-O and Ti-C-O linkages within the crystalline TiO2 lattice, respectively. The introduction of carbon did not affect the crystallite structure or BET surface area of TiO2. The JSC value of DSSCs based on a C-doped TiO2 electrode was increased by 20% compared to DSSCs using a pure TiO2 electrode, and the energy conversion efficiency was increased by 23%. This was due to the enhancement of dye adsorption and high electrical conductivity of the carbon. High energy conversion efficiency was achieved with the DSSCs based on the C-doped TiC2 electrode.

The Effect of Scattering Layer on the Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using TiO2 Hollow Spheres/TiO2 Nanoparticles Films as Photoanodes.

TiO2 hollow spheres were successfully synthesized using poly styrene as the template. Dye-sensitized solar cells are fabricated based on double-layered composite films of TiO2 nanoparticles and TiO2 hollow spheres. The photoelectric conversion performances of Dye-sensitized solar cells based on TiO2 nanoparticles/TiO2 nanoparticles, TiO2 nanoparticles/TiO2 hollow spheres and TiO2 hollow spheres/TiO2 hollow spheres double-layered films are investigated, and their photoelectric conversion efficiencies were determined to 4.52, 7.10 and 5.48%, respectively. Dye-sensitized solar cells based on double layered composite films of TiO2 nanoparticles and TiO2 hollow spheres exhibit the highest photo-electric conversion efficiency mainly due to the combined effect of two factors, the high light scattering of over-layer hollow spheres that enhance harvesting light of the Dye-sensitized solar cells and the under-layer TiO2 nanoparticle layer that ensures good electronic contact between TiO2 film and FTO conducting glass. The double layered composite TiO2 film electrodes are a promising development in enhancing the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells.

Effect of nitrogen doping on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells composed of mesoporous TiO2 photoelectrodes.

Nitrogen-doped mesoporous TiO2 (NMP TiO2) nanoparticles are synthesized using a soft triblock copolymer template by TiCl4 hydrolysis with ammonia water and applied to the photoelectrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The large surface area of a TiO2 mesoporous structure is favorable for dye uptake, and nitrogen doping of TiO2 is expected to increase the charge transport in the photoelectrode as well as the scattering of visible light. Structural characterizations for NMP TiO2 nanoparticles by XRD, XPS, BET, and BJH analyses revealed successful synthesis. However, the photovoltaic performances of the DSSCs prepared from NMP TiO2 were not improved, as had been expected: the photo-conversion efficiency (η) of DSSCs from undoped mesoporous TiO2 (MP TiO2) was 4.69%, an improvement over the 4.15% with the application of P25 TiO2, but the efficiency of DSSCs from NMP TiO2 decreased to 3.2-3.6%. The measured amounts of adsorbed dye showed that nitrogen doping did not significantly affect dye adsorption. Therefore, it can be concluded that nitrogen doping increases isotropic charge transport in a TiO2 nanoparticle to promote charge recombination into an electrolyte, despite its advantages. The full benefits of nitrogen doping may be obtained through measures such as the deposition of a thin barrier layer of oxide onto the TiO2 surface to prevent charge recombination during charge transport in the TiO2 network.

Enhanced electron lifetime on nitrogen-doped TiO2 films for dye-sensitized solar cells.

Nitrogen-doped TiO2 crystallites were prepared via the hydrolysis of TiCl4 using an ammonia medium in an aqueous solution for DSSC photoelectrodes. The optimized photoelectrode for the DSSC was prepared with 9.4 nm sized N-doped TiO2 crystal (BET; 200 m2/g), which provides a relatively high short circuit current and energy conversion efficiency in the DSSC. The photovoltaic performance of the N-doped TiO2 electrode was confirmed using incident photon-to-current efficient spectra, impedance analyses, and Bode-phase plots which proved that the N-doped TiO2 electrode has a significantly enhanced electron lifetime compared with that of the P25 electrode.

Effect of the rutile content on the photovoltaic performance of the dye-sensitized solar cells composed of mixed-phase TiO2 photoelectrodes.

The effect of the rutile content on the photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) composed of mixed-phase TiO(2) photoelectrode has been investigated. The mixed-phase TiO(2) particles with varied amounts of rutile, relative to anatase phase, are synthesized by an in situ method where the concentration of sulfate ion is used as a phase-controlling parameter in the formation of TiO(2) using TiCl(4) hydrolysis. The surface area (S(BET)) varies from 33 (pure rutile) to 165 (pure anatase) m(2) g(-1). Generally, both the current density (J(sc)) and photo-conversion efficiency (η) decrease as the rutile content increases. The incorporation of rod-shaped rutile particles causes low uptake of dye due to the reduced surface area, as well as slow electron transport in less efficiently-stacked structure. However, maximum J(sc) (14.63 mA cm(-2)) and η (8.69%) appear when relatively low rutile content (16%) is employed. The reported synergistic effect by the efficient interparticle electron transport from rutile to anatase seems to overbalance the decrease of surface area when small amount of rutile particles is incorporated.