Ti thin film towards the growth of crystalline-TiO2 nanostructures: stepped light-induced transient measurements of photocurrent and photovoltage in dye sensitized solar cell

Abstract

Highly dense and well-defined TiO₂ nanoflowers (NFs) were grown by the hydrothermal process on a titanium (Ti) coated FTO substrate. The Ti layer with a thickness of ~500–600 nm was deposited on FTO at room temperature with a pressure of ~5 mTorr using a Ti-source through RF magnetic sputtering. The unique TiO₂ NF thin film substrate was applied as a photoanode for the fabrication of a dye sensitized solar cell (DSSCs). Each NF was made of uniform clover leaf-like petals of an average diameter of ~80–100 nm. The synthesized TiO₂ NFs possessed a pure anatase phase with good crystal quality. The fabricated DSSC with TiO₂ NF thin film photoanode accomplished a reasonably good overall solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency (η) of ~3.64% with a high short circuit photocurrent density (J_SC) of ~9.6 mA cm⁻². The improved performance and photocurrent density were explained by the charge transport time, diffusion coefficient, diffusion length and charge collection efficiency of the fabricated DSSC.