Fabrication of double layer photoelectrodes using hierarchical TiO 2 nanospheres for dye-sensitized solar cells

Jung Tae Park, Dong Kyu Roh, Won Seok Chi, Rajkumar Patel, Jong Hak Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

33 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Double layer photoelectrodes consisting of the TiO 2 nanoparticles (npTiO 2) with 30-40nm in diameter and the TiO 2 nanospheres (nsTiO 2) with 100-200nm as a bottom and a top layer, respectively, were fabricated for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) employing a polymer electrolyte. The nsTiO 2 with hierarchical pores were prepared via the combined process of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and a sol-gel. Use of nsTiO 2 resulted in the remarkable enhancement of cell performance due to light scattering and dye adsorption capability. The overall energy conversion efficiency (η) of 5.5% was achieved by the formation of npTiO 2-nsTiO 2 double layer photoelectrode, which was higher than those formed by npTiO 2 alone (4.6%) or nsTiO 2-nsTiO 2 double layer (4.4%). Electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) analysis showed that the npTiO 2-nsTiO 2 double layer had lower electron transfer resistance and longer electron lifetime, leading to facilitation of reduced recombination and consequently improvement of cell performance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)449-455
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
Volume18
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012 Jan 25

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Chemical Engineering(all)

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