Bilayer structured nanowire-array and nanotube-cluster TiO₂ photoanode for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Nanowire-array nanotube-cluster bilayer TiO₂ films, consisting of nanowire-array at the bottom layer and nanotube-cluster at the top layer were prepared via a two-step hydrothermal method. One step was a growth process and the other was an etching process. Etching process was used to acquire nanowire-array with a small diameter of 20–25 nm of the nanowire and nanotube-cluster. The bilayer nanostructured films were then modified with TiCl₄. Villous TiO₂ attached to both the inside and outside walls of the nanotube cluster was obtained only by changing the traditional concentration of TiCl₄-treatment to 0.2 mol/L. The novel bilayer photoanode finally revealed a higher efficiency of 5.25% when used in dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs).

Keywords

Bilayer structure / Etching / Titanium oxide / Photoanode / Dye-sensitized solar cell

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