Decoupling Crystallinity and Size of TiO2 Nanoparticles: Application in Large Area Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Abstract
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have attracted great attention in recent years as a potential alternative to conventional silicon solar cells. However, a lot of current research is still focusing on enhancing their efficiency through the individual improvement of the DSSCs components, as well as their integration. Among these components, mesoporous TiO2 plays an important role in the cell photoanode. Achieving well-crystallized small nanoparticles usually requires a room temperature synthesis, giving very small crystallites (4-10 nm) of TiO2 anatase. As as-synthesized materials contain hydration water, a major drawback in DSSCs, we report how dehydration and crystallinity can be improved by annealing at a moderate temperature, without any sintering or significant particle coarsening. We report in this study a comprehensive study of the cell assembling, and its efficiency, characterized under AM 1.5 illumination with 100 mw/cm2 light intensity.