Preparation of TiO2 particles and their applications in the light scattering layer of a dye-sensitized solar cell

This study investigates the applicability of a hybrid TiO2 electrode (or a working electrode with a light scattering layer) in a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Microcrystalline TiO2 particles, synthesized by the simple sol-gel method using TiCl4 ethanol solution as a precursor, were used to prepare a light scattering layer of the working electrode (or a hybrid TiO2 electrode), and the properties of these microcrystalline TiO2 particles were measured. This electrode was then immersed in a solution of N-719 (Ruthenium) dye at a temperature of 70 degrees C for 6 h. Finally, the DSSC was assembled, and the short-circuit photocurrent, the open-circuit photovoltage, and the power conversion efficiency of DSSC were measured using an I-V measurement system. The effect of the average size of TiO2 particles synthesized by the sol-gel method on the power conversion efficiency of a DSSC was also examined. Most importantly, this study shows that the power conversion efficiency of the DSSC with a hybrid TiO2 electrode (7.02%), which consisted of 50% TiO2 particles (P-25) and 50% TiO2 particles with an average size of 268.7 nm, substantially exceeds that of the conventional DSSC with a TiO2 (P-25) electrode (5.16%) due to the effect of the light scattering in the DSSC. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.