Fast charge transport of titania nanotube arrays in dye-sensitized solar cells
-
Kang-Le Li
Abstract
Vertically oriented nanotubular titania arrays with a length of ca. 12 μm were fabricated by anodisation of titanium foils. Rietveld refinements of grazing incidence and wide angle XRD patterns for the annealed nanotube titania array showed that they consist of anatase crystals with a pronounced size anisotropy and a moderate preferred orientation. The energy conversion efficiency of dye sensitized solar cells based on the annealed nanotubular anatase array exceeds 6% under standard AM1.5 100 mW/cm2 irradiance and thus outperforms solar cells based on anatase nanoparticles when comparing analogous back illumination cell designs. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was employed to clarify the origin of the improved short circuit current and conversion efficiency. It was found that the effective diffusion length in the nanotube cells reaches >100 μm and no longer limits the onversion efficiency. The faster electron transport can be traced back to the larger crystallite size and the reduced intergrain orientation mismatch in the titania nanotubes.
© by Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, München, Germany
Articles in the same Issue
- Preface
- At the edge of covalency: metallic nanotubes, low-dimensional metals and clusters
- Fast charge transport of titania nanotube arrays in dye-sensitized solar cells
- New quaternary complex borides, Ti9M2Ru18B8 (Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn): synthesis, crystal structure and bonding analysis
- Polymorphism of isotypic series of homoleptic 1,2,3-triazolate MOFs [Ln(Tz*)3] containing the heavy lanthanides Gd–Lu: from open to dense frameworks of varying dimensionality
- From magnesium based intermetallics to metal hydrides: structures, properties and reaction pathways
- Crystal and magnetic structures of the complex perovskites LaCu3(Mn4–xFex)O12 with colossal magnetoresistance
- An investigation of the polytypical structure of Sr0.2Ba0.8CoO3–δ by neutron powder diffraction
Articles in the same Issue
- Preface
- At the edge of covalency: metallic nanotubes, low-dimensional metals and clusters
- Fast charge transport of titania nanotube arrays in dye-sensitized solar cells
- New quaternary complex borides, Ti9M2Ru18B8 (Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn): synthesis, crystal structure and bonding analysis
- Polymorphism of isotypic series of homoleptic 1,2,3-triazolate MOFs [Ln(Tz*)3] containing the heavy lanthanides Gd–Lu: from open to dense frameworks of varying dimensionality
- From magnesium based intermetallics to metal hydrides: structures, properties and reaction pathways
- Crystal and magnetic structures of the complex perovskites LaCu3(Mn4–xFex)O12 with colossal magnetoresistance
- An investigation of the polytypical structure of Sr0.2Ba0.8CoO3–δ by neutron powder diffraction
