Photovoltaic performance of dye sensitized solar cell based on rutile TiO2 scaffold electrode prepared by a 2 step bi-layer process using molten salt matrices

Abstract

Dye sensitized solar cells were made on TiO2 scaffold anodes of rutile particles. These TiO2 scaffold anodes were grown from rutile seeds by using a molten salt synthesis technique. Different thickness coatings of mixed amorphous titanium hydroxide and NaCl–KCl eutectic salt mixture on the rutile seeds were heat treated at different temperatures. The rutile whiskers of different aspect ratios were grown depending on the growth temperature. The best photovoltaic performances were obtained for the device made from the scaffold of 20–50 nm diameter and 0.5–1 μm length nanowhiskers obtained at 700 °C for 5 h of treatment.