Aero-Sol-Gel Synthesis of Mesoporous TiO 2 Nanoparticles and Their Photovoltaic Properties in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
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Aero-Sol-Gel Synthesis of Mesoporous TiO2 Nanoparticles and Their Photovoltaic Properties in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Ji Young Ahn1, Kook Joo Moon2, Ji Hoon Kim1, and Soo Hyung Kim1,2,3,* 1
Department of Nano Fusion Technology, College of Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, Pusan National University, 30 Jangjeon-dong, Geumjung-gu, Busan 609-735, Republic of Korea. 2 Department of Samsung Advanced Integrated Circuit, Pusan National University, 30 Jangjeon-dong, Geumjung-gu, Busan 609-735, Republic of Korea. 3 Department of Nanomechatronics Engineering, College of Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, Pusan National University, 30 Jangjeon-dong, Geumjung-gu, Busan 609-735, Republic of Korea. * corresponding author: [email protected] ABSTRACT Highly mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by an aero-sol-gel process in this approach. By varying the mass fraction of inorganic templates, the formation of mesoporous TiO2 NPs with optimized surface area and pore volume distributions was examined. Then, the photovoltaic properties of the resulting mesoporous TiO2 NPs were systematically investigated by applying them into the photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The mesoporous TiO2 NP-based DSSCs fabricated in this study showed an improved short circuit current density and power conversion efficiency compared with solid TiO2 NP-based DSSCs due to the increase of the amount of inorganic dye (N719) adsorption in the mesoporous TiO2 NPs. These mesoporous TiO2 NPs fabricated have a strong potential as an effective dye supporting and electron transfer medium to improve the photovoltaic performance of DSSCs. INTRODUCTION In order to improve the overall power conversion efficiency (PCE) of DSSCs, many research groups have attempted to develop suitable dyes and reduce the interfacial resistance in DSSCs [1-3]. Those previous studies mostly focused on improving the electron transfer in the various interfaces composed of solid TiO2 layer, electrode, and electrolyte by reducing interfacial contact resistance. Unlike previous studies [4], we employed a simple, easy and inexpensive inorganictemplated aero-sol-gel method to fabricate mesoporous TiO2 NPs. In this work, the influence of mesoporous TiO2 NPs on the photovoltaic performance of DSSCs was investigated in terms of the absorbed amount of dye molecules, the open circuit voltage, the shot circuit current, the fill factor, and the power conversion efficiency of DSSCs. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS Two groups of precursor solutions were prepared. First, various amounts of NaCl was completely dissolved in 90 mL of distilled water, and then 17.15 mL of titanium butoxide (Bi4Ti3O12) was added to 72.85 mL of EtOH. Both solutions were then mixed and ultrasonicated
for an hour. This mixed precursor solution prepared was then aerosolized by a standard atomizer operated by filtered compressed air of 35 psi. Finally, the resulting TiO2-NaCl composite NPs collected in a membrane filter with a pore size of 200 nm were then aqueous washed several times for completely removing the NaCl tem
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