Using the method of electrospinning followed by annealing at different temperatures, TiO2 nano fibers with different phases were successfully prepared. Dye sensitized solar cells were fabricated using these TiO2 nanofiber mats as the photoanode. The morphologies and photovoltaic performance of the cells were investigated in detail. By optimizing the annealing temperature and the thickness of the photoanode, a power conversion efficiency of 6.12% and a fill factor of 0.65 were obtained. A treatment with TiCl4 was employed to further improve the photoanodes. The resulting DSSC device employing the TiCl4-treated anodes exhibited an improved efficiency of 7.06% and a fill factor of 0.73. These performance improvements were attributed to the different crystalline structures of the mesoporous composite anatase/rutile TiO2 nanofibers, which featured stair-step energy levels and the high surface area of close grain packing. These positive results suggest that the electrospun nanofiber photoanode provides an effective means of efficient charge transport for application in dye-sensitized solar cells.

• Journal: Journal Of Nanoscience And Nanotechnology
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 613-618
• ISSN: 1533-4880
• DOI: 10.1166/jnn.2016.10807
• Year: 2016
• Number:
• Type: