Properties of chemical vapour deposited nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films and their use in dye-sensitized solar cells

✍ Scribed by P.S. Shinde; C.H. Bhosale

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 815 KB
• Volume: 82
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0165-2370
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaap.2008.01.004

✦ Synopsis

Nanocrystalline titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) thin films have been prepared using titanium(IV) isopropoxide as a precursor onto the glass and fluorine doped tin oxide coated glass substrates by chemical vapour deposition technique at 400 8C substrate temperature. X-ray diffraction study confirms the polycrystalline nature of TiO 2 with anatase phase having tetragonal crystal structure. The films are 975 nm thick and transparent having transmittance grater than 80%. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images reveal the nanocrystalline morphology with grain size of $200 nm. The film shows a sharp absorption edge near 350 nm. Photoelectrochemical study shows that TiO 2 thin film sensitized with Brown Orange dye is found to exhibit relatively maximum I sc and V oc among the studied dyes. The values of fill factor (FF) and efficiency (h) for the dye-sensitized solar cell (Brown Orange dye-sensitized TiO 2 ) are 0.54 and 0.17%, respectively. Such films would serve as better prospects for dye-sensitized solar cells.