Easily manufactured TiO2 hollow fibers for quantum dot sensitized solar cells

Abstract

TiO₂ hollow fibers with high surface area were manufactured by a simple synthesis method, using natural cellulose fibers as template. The effective light scattering properties of the hollow fibers, originating from their micron size, were observed by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. In spite of the micrometric length of the TiO₂ hollow fibers, the walls were highly porous and high surface area (78.2 m² g⁻¹) was obtained by the BET method. TiO₂ hollow fibers alone and mixed with other TiO₂ pastes were sensitized with CdSe quantum dots (QDs) by Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) and integrated as a photoanode in quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSCs). High power conversion efficiency was obtained, 3.24% (V_oc = 503 mV, J_sc = 11.92 mA cm⁻², FF = 0.54), and a clear correspondence of the cell performance with the photoanode structure was observed. The unique properties of these fibers: high surface area, effective light scattering, hollow structure to facile electrolyte diffusion and the rather high efficiencies obtained here suggest that hollow fibers can be introduced as promising nanostructures to make highly efficient quantum dot sensitized solar cells.