Issue 2, 2022

Mesocrystal TiO2 films: in situ topotactic transformation and application in dye-sensitised solar cells

Abstract

Thin film ceramics and semiconductors play an important role in energy- and environment-related areas such as photovoltaics, energy storage and water purification. The morphology and structure of materials significantly affect their properties and performance in applications. Mesocrystal materials with a hierarchical structure and designable overall shape possess not only the properties from nanosized building-blocks but also collective functions from the crystallographically ordered assembly, meeting the criteria of high performance candidates in various applications. In this study, a facile and versatile method was developed to prepare mesocrystal films by simply making a printable paste of the topotactic precursor, followed by in situ topotactic transformation of printed films. Using TiO2 as the model material, mesocrystal TiO2 films made from NH4TiOF3 paste possess high surface area, crystallographic orientation of anatase nanoparticles and overall large particle size, performing well in dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs) as either single-layer photoanodes or additional scattering layers.

Graphical abstract: Mesocrystal TiO2 films: in situ topotactic transformation and application in dye-sensitised solar cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 Nov 2021
Accepted
16 Dec 2021
First published
17 Dec 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2022,6, 502-511

Mesocrystal TiO2 films: in situ topotactic transformation and application in dye-sensitised solar cells

B. Lei, A. Valluvar Oli, A. Ivaturi and N. Robertson, Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2022, 6, 502 DOI: 10.1039/D1SE01791H

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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