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CVD-grown TiO2 particles as light scattering structures in dye-sensitized solar cells

Pazoki, M ; Sharif University of Technology | 2012

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  1. Type of Document: Article
  2. DOI: 10.1039/c2ra21361c
  3. Publisher: 2012
  4. Abstract:
  5. Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) at atmospheric pressure, using TiCl 4 as a precursor, was used to grow nanostructured TiO2 films on glass substrates. At relatively low temperatures (∼245 °C) and using relatively high reactant concentrations, different nano-morphologies of TiO2 were formed simultaneously, such as spheres, nanowires and mesoporous structures. The TiO2 spheres were successfully applied as light-scattering particles in dye-sensitized solar cells, either by direct deposition onto electrodes in the reactor, or by preparation of a printing paste from the deposited particles. For dye-sensitized solar cells using the organic dye D35 as sensitizer and a cobalt-complex based redox electrolyte, a solar cell efficiency of 4.4% was obtained using a 5 μm transparent mesoporous TiO 2 layer. Addition of a 5 μm light-scattering CVD-particle film increased the efficiency by 22% to 5.4%, which was similar to the result obtained with an equally thick commercially available light-scattering film (5.3%). Longer electron lifetime was found using CVD-based films, which is attributed to the presence of more traps in the bulk of the material
  6. Keywords:
  7. Chemical vapour deposition ; Direct deposition ; Dye-Sensitized solar cell ; Electron lifetime ; Glass substrates ; Light-scattering films ; Low temperatures ; Mesoporous structures ; Mesoporous TiO ; Nanostructured TiO ; Organic dye ; Printing paste ; Reactant concentrations ; Redox electrolytes ; Scattering structures ; Solar cell efficiencies ; TiO ; Atmospheric pressure ; Cobalt ; Cobalt compounds ; Light scattering ; Nanowires ; Photoelectrochemical cells ; Solar cells ; Substrates ; Titanium dioxide
  8. Source: RSC Advances ; Volume 2, Issue 32 , 2012 , Pages 12278-12285 ; 20462069 (ISSN)
  9. URL: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2012/RA/c2ra21361c#!divAbstract