In situ Au-catalyzed fabrication of branch-type SnO2 nanowires by a continuous gas-phase route for dye-sensitized solar cells

Abstract

Branch-type SnO₂ nanowires with high crystallinity have been successfully prepared by a rapid and continuous flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) route. The SnO₂ branch has an average diameter of 15–20 nm and a length of 200–700 nm. As is known, this is the first time one dimensional SnO₂ nanowires with branch-type nanostructures have been synthesized using flame synthesis. The average growth rate of nanowires could reach 1 μm s⁻¹, which is thousand times faster than other methods. Interestingly, it is found that Au nanoclusters appear at the tip of SnO₂ nanowires. An in situ Au-catalyzed vapour–liquid–solid (VLS) model is proposed to explain the growth mechanism of branch-type SnO₂ nanowires in flame. As photoanodes, the DSSCs based on branch-type SnO₂ nanowires (with TiCl₄ post-treatment) show a higher short-circuit current (J_SC = 10.60 mA cm⁻²) and a superior power conversion efficiency of 4.23%, improved by 99.5% compared to pure SnO₂ nanoparticles (2.12%). The efficiency improvement could be attributed to the unique branch-type nanowire architecture, which provides a highly efficient electron channel and excellent ability of light scattering.