The investigation on different light harvesting layers and their sufficient effect on the photovoltaic characteristics in dye sensitized solar cell

Abstract

Titanium dioxide-based nanofibers (TiO₂ nanofiber) were prepared by an electrospinning technique. The electrospun composite fibers were synthesized at different concentrations of titanium isopropoxide (25.35, 50.69, 76.05 wt%) and calcinated at different temperatures (450 ^oC, 650 ^oC and 850 ^oC) for 2 h. The diameters of nanofibers decreased by increasing the inorganic part of composite nanofibers and principally depicted anatase, anatase- rutile and rutile phases. By increasing temperature from 450 ^oC to 850 ^oC, the anatase phase decreased whereas the rutile phase increased. The different optimized TiO₂ nanofibers were prepared and utilized as a sufficient scattering layer for the photoanode in dye sensitized solar cells. Then, the electron transport and recombination in TiO₂ nanofiber based dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was investigated. It was shown that the electron life time in DSSCs with TiO₂ nanofibers, as a scattering layer, increases in different photoanode electrodes compared to that on DSSCs based on nanoparticles. As a result, conversion efficiency of 5.6% is realized, which is 55.37% higher than TiO₂ photoanodes without addition of nanofibers as a scattering layer.